Shifting Foxes
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Naruto wants to be the ultimate trainer in his village and rise to the name of Hokage. With him is his first and best friend Shifter, an Eevee he discovered by accident. Shifter was experimented on after hatching and has a unique ability. He can take on the forms of all his evolutionary paths with exception of the Primary 3! Will Naruto rise to the top or is he in for a long fall?
1. Chapter 1

_In this world, there are many strange and wonderful creatures called Pokémon. People who raise these beings as partners are called Shinobi. Rarely does a civilian find one willing to be their pet._

_Our story takes place in the village of Konoha. In the Ninja Academy, children are raised to become shinobi and take one of many paths._

_The Trainer, one who raises and battles their Pokémon to their highest evolutionary form in order to be the best. Those who choose this path may keep six Pokémon partners to assist them, and if they are lucky and have the right potential, may eventually be raised to one of the five highest positions. That of the Kage and his Elite Four Defenders. Some seek to become a Sage, one of those who can be elected as Kage should the current ones step down._

_The Breeder, those that raise their Pokémon with love and attention, never seeking to force the evolutionary path. A majority of those that choose this path become medics for both human and Pokémon. They are the ones in charge of all eggs given out to the new genin who have yet to find one before that time._

_The Ranger, those who seek a balance with a single partner. They guard the village and their Pokémon friends from those that would disturb the peace. Those that take this path often become ANBU later on. They are often called to settle disputes between countries...or between humans and Pokémon._

_The three types of positions come with many benefits and restrictions._

_But there is one universal truth. Out of all the Kage, only one has risen to the position. That of the trainer. Not once has a ranger or a breeder successfully taken that position._

_It is to that point that we begin this tale. The one we shall be following is that of Uzumaki Naruto and his main partner Shifter, an unusual Eevee which has undergone many illegal experiments thanks to a foul section of the Konoha ninja force._

_Shifter can take the form and abilities of any of its evolutionary paths barring three. Those of Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon. Should he be exposed to any of the three stones he would lose his ability to take the forms of the other paths and most of his unique abilities._

_And now, our story begins with how these two unusual characters met..._

* * *

Naruto kicked the can near his foot. Today had been another miserable day. He had once again been beaten by the other kids and mocked because of the fact he had no parents.

His head lifted up when he heard a frightened squeak from behind the trash can. Curious, he slowly went towards it...and found a frightened Pokémon.

While he was the dead last in his class, even he could tell a Pokémon when he saw one. Seeing how frightened it was, and how it seemed to be afraid of humans, Naruto just sat there quietly behind the trash can allowing to get used to his presence.

Something about him must have struck a chord with the little Pokémon, because it slowly stopped freaking out about him being so close and carefully came towards him. He wouldn't know it until later, but the presence of a certain fox in his stomach could be felt by most Pokémon and animals. The sheer power and animalistic presence that the fox had, even from inside him, could be sensed when he was close.

Sadly, this also meant that the day he was forced to capture Tora, the cat would take his rage out solely on him. The cat was naturally terrified of anything bigger than itself thanks to its owner, and doubly so when the thing holding it happened to be a bloody demon.

The tiny Eevee trembled in his arms, but didn't make a move to leave them. The sad truth was that the Kyuubi inside Naruto was a far less terrifying prospect compared to the humans who had altered its genetic makeup almost immediately after it came out of the egg.

Naruto quickly took the tiny Pokémon to the one clinic that wouldn't throw him out on sight.

The one owned by the Inuzuka clan. Tsume was a real bitch when she was in a foul mood, but after running into Naruto so soon after being kicked out of the orphanage, she had essentially told the clan that anyone caught treating him like a demon would be forced to spar with her during that time of the month.

The idea of fighting a hormonal Tsume when her emotions were so out of whack was more than enough motivation to treat Naruto like any other young pup.

As a result, Naruto had learned quickly that the animal clinics were safe havens from the mobs that tended to form on occasion. The dogs at least tolerated his presence enough to allow him near, and Naruto had a good relationship with some of those in the kennels.

If he could have afforded it, he would have adopted a few that no one else ever seemed to want.

"Another injured dog, Naruto?" asked Hana kindly. She rather liked the boy, who reminded her a lot of her own younger brother, though Naruto seemed to have more common sense.

Naruto showed her the Pokémon, and the immediate change in her attitude was quite apparent.

It was considered a crime to abuse Pokémon, and anyone caught doing so was warned only once before the creature was taken away and the culprit was sent in for some very unpleasant retraining.

Naruto answered all her questions, making sure to stay within arm's reach of the Pokémon. It seemed absolutely terrified of needles, which sent quite a few alarms going off in Hana's mind. At the very least she knew that Naruto would never dare hurt a Pokémon like this. He would rather befriend them and work alongside them instead.

Once the Eevee had calmed down enough for Hana to give it a thorough check up, Hana found an oddity in its bloodwork.

"Naruto, are you sure this little one was hiding in the trash?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah, I hid behind the trash can with it and let it come to me, just like you taught me Hana-nee-chan!"

Hana had shown Naruto once how to get the animals to come near him. Ever since then Naruto always adopted a wait and see approach when it came to animals.

"Naruto, this Eevee has some unusual pathogens in its blood. Would you mind if I kept it overnight for observation?"

Hearing the word 'observation' the Eevee practically dove into his arms.

"Can I stay with it?" he asked.

Hana debated on what to do, when an idea occurred to her. She had heard Kiba's description of Naruto in class, and it had always struck her as odd. Perhaps she could kill two nin with one kunai?

"How about this. While we wait for the bloodwork to be fully processed, you spend the night at the clan compound with me. That way we can keep an eye on your Eevee and still keep it close to you," she suggested.

It would take some fast talking, and with any luck her mother would go along with it. Should the Pokémon be carrying any sort of illness, she would take full responsibility for it.

Plus this would hopefully instill a sense of responsibility and loyalty to Pokémon partners in her younger brother.

* * *

_At the Inuzuka compound..._

"You brought a rogue Pokémon and the village pariah here for the night?" said Tsume. Hana didn't back down from her decision. She stared her mother in the eye and told her exactly what prompted the idea.

Tsume watched as the little Eevee carefully started to play with Akamaru while the two boys debated their classes in a friendly manner. Her canine partner Kuromaru and her Pokémon Arc (Arcanine) watched them with amusement.

"Good work Hana. But if it's carrying anything..."

"I'll take full responsibility for it," she assured her.

That night marked a decided change in the way the Inuzuka treated the blond.

He had surprised a great many when he mentioned that up to that point he had only been able to eat ramen from a stand that was known to be the favorite of at least two Kages. Other than that he mostly ate scraps.

It was after that meal that many of the clan members who at best treated him with indifference, started to treat him like a normal kid...or Kiba. Naruto was so surprised by the friendly manner of the Inuzuka clan that he actually behaved without flinching.

All through the night, Hana kept a sharp eye on the Eevee. It was only ever comfortable around Naruto, and seemed to regard anyone who came close as a threat. It never displayed any symptoms of sickness.

Just when she thought there was nothing out of the ordinary (aside from some severe abuse or experimentation) the little Eevee shocked her...by shifting into the form of an Umbreon...and then returning to its previous form.

A Pokémon able to evolve and de-evolve was unheard of! Once a Pokémon evolved, that was it. It stayed in the new form until it either evolved again or died. The only Pokémon able to change forms like that was Ditto, and the little Eevee certainly wasn't that pink blob.

Unless it was a Ditto that was stuck in the form of an Eevee, which while improbable was possible.

All of those theories went right out the window when the bloodwork came in during the noon.

**Species:** Eevee

**Gender:**Male

**Level**: 10

**Ability:** Unknown

**Notes:_ There are a number of unusual genetic markings in the Eevee blood you sent. It could be nothing, but all of the markings indicate extreme genetic testing. From what we could tell it would allow this particular Eevee to 'shift' between its evolutionary forms, though for some reason the original three are locked. Should it be exposed to the three stones known to cause evolution, it is highly possible that it will be locked in that form. Again this is only speculation. Aside from that it appears that all vaccinations are completely up to date, including a few that aren't standard in the kennels._**

When Naruto returned that evening, Hana told him that the Eevee was cleared for any health problems.

"Does...does this mean I can keep it?"

"It's a he, and yes. Though I would like you to bring it in once a week just in case. There were a few...unusual...things found in its blood and I want to make a progress report on how it does."

"Thanks Hana-nee-chan!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Hana helped him fill out the paperwork that labeled the little Eevee as Naruto's partner, though when he learned of its unusual ability he decided to just name it Shifter.

And with that, an unusual team was born.

Ever since that day, the bond between Shifter and Naruto only grew stronger. Especially when the tiny Eevee realized that Naruto would not only care for him, but protect him from mortal harm.

Once Shifter grew comfortable enough around the blond, it started to display it's very unusual abilities. Like the fact that it could take the form of any of its evolutionary paths barring the first three that the Leaf nin had discovered.

* * *

It took two years for the little Pokémon to be comfortable around Hana enough to allow her to examine it without Naruto around. Though anyone else would find themselves flash frozen or stuck to the wall if it came anywhere near the little Pokémon with a needle or leash. Shifter was nothing if not vindictive. And his personality tended to mimic Naruto to a rather strong degree.

Something many of Naruto's fellow classmates learned the hard way once Shifter's confidence was up enough that it actually took it upon itself to prevent him from being bullied.

Among those who suffered from being frozen from the knee down (only because Iruka had asked him to keep the _Ice beam_ attacks to non lethal and mildly painful levels) were some from the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan.

Though the Uchiha could usually get out within a few minutes of Naruto and Shifter leaving, the Hyuuga quickly learned to leave the boy alone for fear of being hit again with the _ice beam_.

Because of his new partner, Naruto quickly found himself ascending the ranks in the Academy. Most of those with partner Pokémon tended to lose their attitude towards 'that demon brat' once they learned the circumstances of Shifter's background. Having Hana confirm it and show the test results only made that change solidify.

As a result, Naruto found his classes much easier and that the teachers no longer gave him a dirty look or tried to subtly hinder him. His grades almost shot through the roof after his third test, to the surprise of many.

Naruto was now a contender for the top shinobi in the year. A fact not lost on the Hokage.

Naruto yawned as he gently moved Shifter off him. The canine like Pokémon simply loved to snuggle under the covers and sleep against his legs at night, which made moving during the night rather difficult. _(My dog does this too! Evil, bed stealing boxer...)_

Shifter yawned widely, displaying several sharp teeth that had recently grown in. Because of the odd ability to shift into different forms at will, his teeth tended to be replaced at least once or twice every other month. Naruto made up for that fact by keeping plenty of toys for him to gnaw on during class.

It was an unspoken agreement between Iruka and Naruto that Shifter never use his _Bite_ attack on the other students. Because of his almost constant gnawing of toys, Shifter's _Bite_ attack could cause serious damage. It's jaw strength could be compared to a Feraligatr if the tiny Pokémon ever put its full power into it.

A fact quite a few of the mobs had found the hard way...Naruto was very happy when people finally learned to leave him alone on his birthday.

Naruto tended to spend the mob-free day with the Hokage who sometimes lent him scrolls that couldn't be counted as classified for him to try out.

Once he accidentally left an odd bookmark in one, and Naruto learned his elemental affinity years before his classmates. Though it took him a few months to locate some wind scrolls that he was allowed to train with.

All in all, things were finally looking up for Naruto. Until his final chance at graduating...

* * *

"So which path do you want to take Naruto?" asked Iruka, treating the boy to some ramen for passing a test.

"I dunno. I mean I wouldn't mind becoming a Ranger with Shifter at my side, but I still want to become Hokage and that means bein' a Trainer."

"You do realize that Trainers are allowed to shift careers if their personality doesn't mix with their chosen path right?"

"Yeah, but no one ever said that the same was for Rangers or Breeders..."

"I hate to say this, but you don't look like a breeder to me," said Iruka.

"Yeah, Hana-nee-chan said the same when I talked about the choice with Kiba. Something about my problems with certain types of animals getting in the way."

Iruka silently applauded her sense of tact. She had carefully avoided the fact that he had the fox inside of him!

"Why don't you try being a trainer for a few years and then try the ranger to see what suits you best?" asked Iruka.

"That's the thing. I feel like both of them would suit me, but rangers can only have one partner."

"Yes, but with their stylers they are allowed to befriend Pokémon to help them. The only difference is that the Pokémon are released back in the wild once the mission is done."

While the idea did appeal to Naruto, the fact was that he had no idea what he wanted to be.

"You do know that trainer is a standard ninja career for most and that it is usually a stepping stone to the others. Even breeders fight every once in a while, while rangers use the skills they gained as trainers to help when it comes to using Pokémon assists. Trainers tend to pick up on type advantages and that usually sticks with you for years."

"So I can be a trainer and eventually become a ranger!" said Naruto.

"I know for a fact that some of the Inuzuka have offered to let you pick another Pokémon from their catalog. Apparently you made quite an impression on them, because they rarely allow a genin to have one of their nin-Pokémon before they have enough cash or missions built up," said Iruka.

The Inuzuka clan was infamous for its specialty in canine type Pokémon. It was part of the reason why the care for Shifter was so thorough. More than one nasty cold had been averted because of Hana's expertise in that area.

"However, that doesn't mean anything if you can't graduate!" said Iruka firmly.

For reasons unknown, Naruto had failed the last two despite having surpassed the written exam. The biggest problem was that the final exam usually had a jutsu he had great difficulty with...namely the clone.

This time though, Naruto thought he had it down pat. A long discussion/argument with the Hokage had convinced the old man to let him at least try a different variant of the jutsu, and to be sure of impartiality the Hokage would be at the graduation exams too.

It was the best they could make of a bad situation.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto walked in, with Shifter on his head. Since it was just a measly clone the Pokémon didn't have to worry about ruining the jutsu by being there.

"Remember Naruto, Henge and clone," said Iruka.

Naruto, in a fit of mischief, did his own personal jutsu right then and there. In a poof of smoke, he revealed himself to be...

A boy with pigtails?

"What the hell?" said Naruto loudly.

The Hokage and Iruka's eyes narrowed. While it was pretty obvious what Naruto had been going for, something didn't seem right. Naruto would never mess up a jutsu he could perform without any seals.

"I suppose that's a fail?" asked Mizuki.

"Not quite. Naruto, could you come up here a moment?" he asked.

When asked, Naruto turned around...and Iruka's scowl deepened. Someone had placed a chakra suppressant seal on the boy, which combined with the one on his stomach would ruin his chakra control.

Naruto's control was abysmal, but it was workable ever since Iruka mentioned the tree climbing trick. Naruto would soon move onto water walking.

"Try again Naruto. Perhaps without that blatant act of sabotage you can do the henge properly. But no Oiroke or I'll tell Hana and Tsume."

Naruto shivered appropriately. Tsume terrified most people, especially during that time of the month.

Naruto tried again.

"Henge!"

This time he turned into the old Hokage, to his amusement.

"Now try the bushin," said Iruka encouragingly.

Naruto's smirk did not inspire good thoughts.

"Kage Bushin!"

The look on Iruka's face when he produced a solid clone made Naruto's victory all the sweeter. Shifter's demonstration by jumping on the double's head only made him laugh harder.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Pass!" said Iruka firmly.

Mizuki was still seething that the fox brat got a good enough look at the scroll he wanted and with the Hokage's permission to boot.

Naruto walked out proudly with his new headband, pokedex and the standard belt given to all new genin.

* * *

As Naruto went to treat Shifter to a congratulatory ramen, he noted something odd on the way to the stand. An odd yellow Pokémon with its hands on its head was walking around sadly. Naruto paused with Shifter watching with interest.

"What's wrong little guy?"

The duck thing looked at him sadly.

"Psy...Psyduck..."

Shifter turned into its Espeon form and talked to it...and then relayed the information to Naruto through the telepathy it had developed little over a year ago.

"Your trainer abandoned you because he didn't want a duck?" said Naruto in surprise and anger.

The Psyduck nodded sadly. The kid had ended up failing the secondary test anyway because of it, but it still hurt. It had waited for so long for a partner to be paired with it!

"I don't see why anyone would get rid of you. You look like an awesome partner!" said Naruto.

Shifter looked at Naruto, and then at the Psyduck. It had a good idea what Naruto would do.

"Tell ya what, if you want you can join me and Shifter! Anyone who would throw away an awesome Pokémon like you doesn't deserve to be a ninja!" said Naruto.

Psyduck looked rather happy about the idea, and happily joined him. Even if he wasn't the partner he expected, it was still nice to be wanted.

Naruto took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Psyduck.

_Psyduck, the Duck Pokémon. While it almost always seems to have a headache, whenever the confusion passes it is able to unleash some potent psychic ability. Many trainers have overlooked this Pokemon due to the fact that it is slow to use its full potential._

The moment he read the description, Naruto's fox-like grin widened. Psyduck always seemed to have a headache, so Naruto had the perfect name for it! Hana always gave him some odd pills to help him when he had headaches, and after a while he learned the medicinal name for the stuff to buy in bulk.

"From now on your name is...Ibuprofen*!"

The newly named Ibuprofen joined them at the ramen stand. Teuchi took the new Pokémon partner in stride. Though when he heard exactly what his best customer had named it, he couldn't help but laugh his ass off. Naruto was one of the most unpredictable people he knew, but one thing was certain.

At least he was never boring!

* * *

Mizuki followed the blond brat and watched him gain a second Pokémon with disturbing ease. Most of the brats would be lucky to get a second that quick.

As it was, Naruto had the option of either going to the Inuzuka compound to pick up his Pokémon egg (mandatory for all ninja, even with a partner unless they had chosen the ranger path and already had their chosen pokemon with them) or the Hokage tower to pick up what was left.

The reason being that raising a Pokémon from the egg bonded you to the village better than simply picking one up. Mizuki was not one of those, since he had gotten a ghost Pokémon to shut people up about why he didn't have one. He had a mutual agreement with the Haunter.

A "I won't order you around so long as you leave me alone" deal.

The Haunter liked his partner about as much as Mizuki liked the creatures, so it worked fairly well.

* * *

"Hey old man! Why do I have to come to the Tower when I already got a team starting to form?" asked Naruto.

The old Hokage took a look at Shifter and the new addition, though even he had to hold back a few chuckles when he heard the name Naruto had given the duck. Trust the most unpredictable new genin on his payroll to come up with a name like that.

"You need to pick out an egg from the breeders. I understand Tsume said that you can pick an egg from their kennels, if you want."

Naruto shook his head.

"I already talked to her about it. I'm going to do a wait and see and let my team grow a bit before I take on anymore. She seemed to like the fact that I was willing to train my Pokémon first, since I just adopted Ibuprofen," said Naruto.

"You should really shorten it," said the Hokage absolutely amused by the name.

"I did. His nickname is Advil," said Naruto proudly.

The Hokage laughed outright at the inside joke.

"Be that as it may, you still have to pick up an egg. Your classmates have already come and gone, so you'll have to choose from what's left," said the Hokage.

"Where is the Breeder area?"

The Hokage grinned, his mood definitely amused more than anything as he led the boy down to the area right below his office. Naruto had passed the area a thousand times and had never once disturbed the nin there, which meant they wouldn't hold a grudge against him...he hoped.

Naruto looked over the Pokémon carefully. Unlike his classmates, he didn't want a Pokémon that looked cool or had a high enough stat range.

He wanted one that felt right to him. Advil and Shifter waited patiently...until Naruto selected an egg that was on the wayside and the pile was untouched. It took everything the Hokage had not to stare at what Naruto had picked.

Naruto had found a Vulpix egg...the first stage of the infamous Ninetails evolution. It had fallen out of favor since the attack the day Naruto was born, and almost no one ever chose it unless it was the last egg there because it reminded the villagers too much of the Kyuubi.

So the fact that the boy had picked the one egg that could cause him more grief than anything else spoke volumes. Of what, he had no idea, but it was there.

"I have to ask...why Vulpix of all things?" asked the breeder. Pokemon were Pokemon to them, so they held no perceived grudge against the creatures.

"Like I said, I went for the one that felt right. And this little guy felt right to me. Besides, between Advil and Shifter, I'm gonna have all the elements covered at the rate I'm going!"

The Hokage had to admit, the boy had a good point.

Shifter covered more elements than any Pokémon could dream of, and Advil (he kept his snickering to a minimum) covered water. The Vulpix would cover the fire attacks. At the rate he was going, he was mostly missing Dragon, Flying, Lightning, Poison, Ground, Fighting, Ghost and Steel. Though he had the sneaking suspicion that Anko had slated one of her prized Dratini eggs for the boy, should he prove his worth to her.

(Here's an interesting side story as to how she got a Dratini egg instead of a snake based one. Rather amusing at the time.)

* * *

_Flashback_

Anko ran into the Breeder area. She was always running errands for them whenever her real teacher Orochimaru couldn't be bothered. As a result, she was more than familiar with how it was set out, and could navigate it like any of the caretakers of the precious eggs.

Today was her genin exam, and after the embarrassment of the last one (where it got called off due to an emergency call to help save some Pokémon trapped in an exploding volcano, so all hands at deck) she had finally passed.

Unaware of which egg she had, she had taken a cursory glance at the sheet which held a long serpentine form for the Pokémon inside. Since she was running very late, she grabbed one of those eggs, unaware that she had run into the Dragon section instead of the Poison.

Imagine her surprise to learn that she had grabbed a Dratini egg instead of the Seviper one she had been going for.

Later she would blame the fact that she had been working in the Dragon section all week, which was why she had even gone into there that day. She never gave up her Dratini though, because she learned that it kept the snake-like form until its final evolution which was only ever seen at a glance in the distance.

So when Orochimaru and his Arbok defected, the fall out was much less than it could have been since she was known as a dragon tamer instead of poison.

_Flashback end_

* * *

Anko had jealously guarded her Dratini eggs, and rightfully so. A few months after she became a genin someone came in and stole the rest of the tiny nest and the breeding pair. There was only one other Dratini egg in circulation, and Anko had the only breeding female.

Though many were surprised to learn that she had gone into the Breeder training instead of the Ranger. Especially when they learned of her day job as the T and I's best interrogator.

Though the idea of Naruto picking up anything from Anko terrified him in ways he couldn't imagine. Sadly he wouldn't learn until the Chunin exams that Naruto not only knew her, but he considered her a crazy cousin. Something Anko latched onto with obvious relish, since so few were willing to consider her family after the betrayal of her master.

Naruto carefully placed the egg in his new bag, which Advil cheerfully jumped in since it's ability to walk as fast as Naruto was lacking.

"You watch over 'em, alright Advil?"

"Psy!"

Naruto grinned, and left his bag open so the duck could see outside. Advil got along great with Shifter, which was the only requirement he had as a trainer.

* * *

Hinata had picked out her egg under the watchful gaze of a branch member. She had wandered into a random section where she found a woman in a trench coat helping out the breeders send the kids to find a good partner.

"Heya kid. You're a Hyuuga right?"

She nodded fearfully.

Anko took a long look at the girl. It took her a moment to recognize Hinata as the only girl who actually liked Naruto. With a grin, she cheerfully showed the timid Hyuuga to a certain nest that only had one egg in it.

"I know you like blondie, so here's a little help to confessing. These little guys are one of the few that match his rather vibrant personality, and are pretty damn hard to find this time of year. It's also one that your dad won't be able to complain about and will match your abilities fairly well."

A few years of dealing with Naruto's loud personality (which was a tamer version of hers) had helped to make her a bit more patient with kids. And since the girl obviously liked Naruto, who was Anko to let the kid flounder on her own?

(She would later blame Naruto, Kuranai and Hana's influence for the rare moment of kindness.)

Hinata left the area with her new egg, and the nest was closed off to the rest of the kids. She never got a good look at what section or egg type she had gotten.

As Hinata made her way towards team assignments (Trainers were placed in teams to insure that no one was left high and dry in dangerous areas) she noticed an odd crowd around a single point. Using her Byakugan, she realized that the civilians were all kicking a Pokémon!

She rushed in and scooped up the Pokémon, without once looking at it. Her egg was already safely at home, and since her father was waiting for it to hatch before sharing his opinion on it Hinata was left alone. It was going to hatch sometime in the week, but not today. Hyuuga were one of the few clans able to tell how long it took for an egg to hatch.

Once Hinata managed to rescue the poor thing, she found herself at a loss as to where to take it.

At least until Kiba showed up.

"Hey Hinata! What's that in your arms?"

"I found the civilians torturing this poor thing," she said timidly.

"Another one huh? Come on, I'll take you to Hana. She took care of Shifter the first time Naruto found him," said Kiba.

Kiba viewed Naruto as his brother, since the fox boy's relationship with Shifter was so similar to the one he had with Akamaru. He had also heard tales of how Naruto originally found Shifter for quite some time from the blond when he first showed up with the tiny Pokémon.

Hana looked up, and saw her brother.

"What did you do now Kiba?" she said patiently.

"Hana-nee, Hinata found the civilians bullying a Pokémon. She didn't know where to take it to get treatment," said Kiba.

Hana looked passed him to reveal the Hyuuga heiress with a Pokémon in her arms. What kind she couldn't tell.

"Come in the back with me Hinata-san. We'll look over what you saved. Did you recognize any of the civilians?"

Hinata had, before she rescued the Pokémon. She gave the names without question...bullying or abusing Pokémon was a crime punishable with prison time along with traitors. Especially if it wasn't their first offense.

When Hinata placed the Pokémon on the table, her eyes widened in shock.

She had rescued a baby Vulpix! She knew that they were frowned upon after the Kyuubi's attack, but that was no excuse to take it out on an infant!

Hana looked it over and after some inspection gave it a clean bill of health.

"Well it looks like there wasn't any permanent damage, though this little girl seems to have just been born. She probably snuck out of the breeding area," said Hana.

"Why did the civilians kick her like that? She's only a baby!" said Hinata in shock.

"Civilians can't see past their own hate of the Fox. Believe me, I know that fact a bit more painfully than most, because they used to take it out on Naruto. This was one of his few safe areas from the mobs before Shifter forced them to stop."

The tiny Vulpix tried to walk, but kept tripping on its own feet.

It managed to get towards Hinata though, and looked at her with big eyes.

"It certainly seems to like you though. Would you like to keep it? I'm sure even Hiashi would understand that you were only doing your duty in protecting our Pokémon partners."

Hinata nodded, though her father was sure to be angry at the fact that she had rescued a Vulpix.

Sensing that the girl might get into trouble with her father, Hana took Hinata with her to see the Hokage and file a formal report.

Hinata left that office with a note for her father praising her for her quick thinking and protection of one of their allies, despite the danger she could have been in.

That was the only reason her father didn't kick her and the infant out. Hiashi wasn't a fan of the Fox, or any of it's very distant cousins, but after reading the note from the Hokage about her actions he at least didn't complain about the infant's presence. A fact Hinata took to heart, since it meant the infant Vulpix was hers to keep.

A few days later her egg hatched into a very rare Riolu, which garnered a very, very rare compliment on her choice of eggs from her father and the elders.

Riolu, while a fighting type, was one of the few Pokémon that could match a Hyuuga in battle. Their Aura tricks were so similar to the Jyuken that most Hyuuga often tried to get one at some point.

Hinata was the first in the clan to ever receive one at the start.

She made a note to thank the nice Jounin who helped her get that specific egg with some home-made dango...after she inquired as to the woman's name.

* * *

_*A/N: This is a little joke I have with my friend Angela. The first time I named my Psyduck Advil she laughed her butt off. I named the next one I caught Tylenol. If you don't get it, Ibuprofen is the medical name for Advil, which is known to help massive headaches, among other things._


	3. Chapter 3

Iruka stared at his class with a pleased eye. Naruto had surprised a few people three days ago, by accidental capturing Mizuki who had tried to flee with the Forbidden Scroll. The soon to be dead traitor had blabbed about his condition, which Naruto had laughed with amused tears in his eyes at. If he truly was the Fox, then Shifter wouldn't be his partner and life long friend, now would he?

Naruto had beaten Mizuki within an inch of his life, and it hadn't escaped his notice that the man's Haunter did nothing but laugh at him.

As payment for protecting the scroll and helping Anko catch the traitor, Naruto as allowed another look at the contents and could use another jutsu from it outside Konoha. The Hokage didn't know which one the boy chose, only that he made a note of the handsigns in his own code book, and had occasionally trained with it in one of the more secluded training grounds.

Anko ended up adopting the man's Haunter, who had taken a liking to how she treated his partner. As a result she had a new friend to help her scare people into talking.

* * *

"Alright everyone! Here are the team match ups!" yelled Iruka. The class settled down.

Naruto bounced excitedly, only stopping once Shifter took a swipe at his ear in protest. Like Akamaru the Eevee loved to ride on his head.

"Team 7 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno and Shino Aburame."

"Team 8 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha."

"Team 9 is still in circulation, so Team Ten will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi."

Originally Sakura was going to be on the same team as Naruto and Hinata with Kiba. However after a report from Anko that the girl actually liked the fox container and didn't hit him upon occasion (something the Haruno girl had developed a rather disturbing habit of late) the Hokage decided to switch the girls. And by extension the teachers.

Kakashi would probably be a better influence on the Inuzuka, seeing as how he was a more tracking based Ranger. If the Uchiha awakened his doujutsu, then he could ask for advice from the man.

Kuranai showed up on time, her Misdrevius floating beside her. Team 8 left along with Team 10, and Team 7 had to wait two long hours for Kakashi to show up.

* * *

"Alright, I want a basic profile. Name, likes, dislikes and dreams. You first blondie," said Kuranai.

She didn't mention that she already knew about as much as she could from Anko about the blond. And Hinata considered her a second mother figure. About the only mystery was the Uchiha.

"Naruto Uzumaki! I like Shifter, Advil and my new Vulpix Kurama! Oh, and ramen, can't forget that. I dislike it when people abuse Pokémon, those that can't take the hint that Shifter is my partner by choice and not forced, the three minutes it takes for ramen to be ready and anything related to paperwork! My dream is to one day become Hokage!" said Naruto.

"Anything else?" Kuranai heard there was _another_ dream the boy had through Anko, who had countered it with one of her own.

"...I do one day dream of having a pool filled with Ichiraku ramen that I can just dive in..." said Naruto sheepishly.

Kuranai snorted. She looked at Hinata.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like Pokémon, reading books and learning new techniques. I dislike the Caged Bird Seal my family employs, bullying and seeing people hurt. My dream is to one day unite the Hyuuga clan under one name and abolish the entire practice of applying seals to those under the Branch family," said Hinata nervously.

Kuranai knew of her affection for the blonde, and said nothing about it.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like fire, gardening and plotting the demise of a certain man. I dislike fan girls with a passion. My dream is to one day kill a certain person and restore my clan to its former glory," said Sasuke stoically.

Kuranai had a bit of inspiration as she looked him square in the eye and told him he might want to pick a better dream. Naruto apparently saw where she was going with that idea because he snickered loudly.

"Why should I change my dream?" asked Sasuke indignant.

"Because Anko-nee's dream is to kill one of the Sannin, and she won't like having someone not even a chunin trying to steal her line," said Naruto.

"And Anko happens to be one of the only Dragon-type trainers in the village, so if yours got sick you would be out of luck," said Kuranai.

"She also happens to be one of the best interrogators in the village, and she doesn't mind dropping snakes on people who annoy her," said Naruto.

Sasuke looked annoyed. They had raised valid points, so he looked at them and said "Well what would you suggest?"

"Me? Taking out the Civilian council, especially the three old geezers who are allowed to stay during shinobi meetings," said Naruto.

His new team gave him and odd look, so he hastily explained.

"Those old geezers cause nothing but trouble for the old man, and the civilian council rarely actually _does_ anything. Do you know how many times I've heard people bitch about the fact that they mostly sit on their asses during meetings and the only thing they ever really try to do is get me killed?" said Naruto.

Kuranai thought about that, and reluctantly admitted he did have a point. More than a few store owners complained about the Civilian council. Which begged the question as to how they were still sitting in the same seats after the elections every other year.

"My name is Kuranai Yuuhi. My likes are genjutsu, flavored tea, and reading. My dislikes are the books known as Icha Icha, perverts and people who think women can't be real ninja. My dream is to live to see a woman take the Hokage position."

That was her new goal after meeting her original one years ago.

"We'll take a skills test tomorrow at noon, and I will determine if you are fit to becoming genin," she said firmly.

None of them complained, and decided to brush up on their skills later so they could pass their test.

* * *

Naruto ran into Hinata on the way to the training grounds. In his hands was a large bento set that Hana helped him to make.

She told him that he could share it as a show of faith to his new team. Considering how he used to be bullied until Shifter displayed it's rather potent bite strength, it was an easy decision.

Sasuke was there as well, reading a book on gardening.

Naruto took one look at the title and said "You know the one by Hikari Midori has some better ideas. She even explains why certain soils don't work with plants from various countries."

Sasuke looked up, his interest peaked.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I could never figure out why my herb garden kept having so much trouble sprouting until I found her book series on plants, soils compositions and water types."

"You know where I could get a copy?"

"If we pass this I'll lend you mine. I sometimes run into her at the bookstore," said Naruto.

Kuranai grinned from her spot under the genjutsu. They were already showing signs of being a real team.

"Alright kids, now in order to become official genin you have to land a hit on me. You have three hours to either hit me physically with your jutsu or have one of your Pokémon land a blow."

Naruto didn't look too enthusiastic about the test, but he would give it his all.

"Begin."

"So what do we do?" asked Hinata.

"I have no idea. Kurenai Yuuhi, one of the rare jounin who can place a genjutsu on a Pokémon and get it to stick. How the hell are we going to land a hit on someone who can fool a Pokémon?" asked Sasuke.

"No clue. I suck at genjutsu," said Naruto.

"Ano...most genjutsu can be dispelled with a 'Kai'. Some kinds can be dispelled with a chakra pulse, though those are harder."

"The problem is I don't know how to do either," said Naruto.

"I have an idea. Hinata, can your Riolu sense chakra?"

"Haru is good at aura sensing, but I don't know if he'll be able to find Kurenai-sensei..." said Hinata.

"He doesn't need to _find_ her for us, we just need him to figure out if she's a fake or not. Naruto, how good is Shifter's sense of smell?"

"Damn near that of an Inuzuka hound. Hana-nee showed me how to train that aspect, so he's at roughly the same level as Akamaru."

"Alright, then you can tell if it's her. Haru and Shifter can work in conjunction to figure out if she's a fake or not," said Sasuke.

"What about you?"

"Hono will work using his flames with my fire attacks to try to land a hit on Kurenai-sensei. Think you two can follow my directions?"

"I'll do it if you follow ours when it comes to our specialties," said Naruto after thinking about it.

"Deal."

The three started running together, occasionally finding a clone of their teacher. Kurenai left a few fakes for them to play with as a test.

* * *

After two and a half hours, the three were tired. However they had eliminated almost all the fakes in that time. Finally they confronted the real Kurenai.

"Well done. Most genin wouldn't figure out that they had to work together to find me," said Kurenai.

They were all bone tired, well, except for Advil.

The poor Psyduck had a massive migraine, trying to figure out which of the fakes was real. Right as Kurenai was about to tell them the true purpose of the real final exam, Advil let out a cry.

"PSY AI AI!"

His eyes turned white all around and started to glow. Without warning, Kurenai was lifted up in the air with an indignant squawk or protest. Naruto pulled his backpack around, and Advil kept their teacher up in the air.

"Advil, you okay?"

Naruto started to rub the duck's head, and Advil carefully let down Kurenai. It went to sleep in Naruto's arms, his energy spent. Kurenai stared at the duck in disbelief. She had forgotten all about it since it wasn't actually doing anything, and Kurama was still helping out Sasuke's Charmander Hono.

She had heard that when a Psyduck worked through its permanent headache, it could unleash great psychic powers, but this was the first she ever saw it happen.

"Well, it seems you pass twice," she said after she got over her shock.

"What do you mean sensei?" asked Hinata.

"The whole point of my test was to see if you could work together to find the real me. If you landed a hit, then you might have been taken under as my apprentice even if you failed the true test. In this case, thanks to Naruto's Psyduck, you pass twice," she said in disbelief.

"His name is Advil," said Naruto proudly.

Kurenai bit back a laugh. That was a rather amusing name for a Psyduck.

"In any case, since you passed, allow me to be the first to tell you. Congratulations Team 8. We start missions tomorrow. If you can behave and work like a proper team I might clear you for C ranks early."

"Hai, Sensei!" said the three.

* * *

"_I HATE THAT CAT!" _roared a certain fox container. Tora did NOT like him, and for some reason it scratched the hell out of him every time they were assigned the mission.

After the third time to capture Tora, Naruto had enough. He gave Advil pills specially designed to either reduce or completely remove the Confusion ailment. He tended to buy them in bulk like he did his headache pills, since reading gave him some serious migraines.

The moment those drugs kicked in, the team heard a loud feline yowl from the forest. Advil had long since locked onto Tora's minute chakra signature (come on, that cat had to have SOME chakra to run that long from the genin!) and lifted it up into the air. Tora was downright pissed off, and Naruto had Shifter keep that cat in the air until they reached the mission office. The Fire Daimyo's wife didn't seem to mind, since her cat was unharmed.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and said "Teme, if you ever get that weird spinny eye thing, can you do me a favor?"

"It's called the Sharingan...and what kind of favor?"

"Place a genjutsu on that damn cat so it'll think twice about scratching us," said Naruto.

"Agreed. That cat must pay," said Sasuke.

"...I can paralyze it so that you can put the genjutsu on without hurting it," said Hinata timidly.

Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at her. Both were incredulous...before Naruto broke the tension.

"Hinata-chan, have I ever said how much you rock sometimes?" asked Naruto. Hinata lit up like a tomato, happy with the praise.

Normally Kurenai would have spoken up about harming a cat, but Tora was infamous for a reason. NO ONE liked that damn cat aside from his owner. Hell, they'd probably get praised for doing something to it!

The Hokage coughed in amusement as he listened to the genin plot on how to get even with the cat. To be honest, it wasn't the first time one of his shinobi had done so...though in the case of Naruto it was much more likely that the plan would succeed.

"In any case, the three of you have completed the required number of D ranks to qualify for a C. What do you think Kurenai?"

"Honestly Hokage-sama, if we don't get Naruto into a real mission soon that duck of his is going to drive people nuts," said Kurenai.

"OI! Don't diss the Duck!" said Naruto. Advil agreed with his partner.

Iruka would have gone into a spiel about how the missions ranking went, but the speculative look Kurama and Hinata's Vulpix Yume were giving his chair shut him up rather fast. The last time they looked at his chair like that, they set it on fire. Naruto had almost laughed himself sick until he got Advil to put out the fire...though Iruka ended up looking like he had walked through Ame without an umbrella.

"Honestly Iruka, if we don't get this kid out of the village for a while he'll go stir crazy," said Kurenai seriously.

"The sad thing is that it's probably true," muttered the Hokage.

He held up three scrolls.

"Each of these is a low C ranked mission. You can only pick one."

"What inside?" asked Naruto. When it came to missions, he was the one who usually chose for the group.

"The first is a mission is an escort halfway to Kumo for a merchant. It generally lasts a week."

He held up a second scroll.

"This is a mission to deliver medicinal plants to Suna. It will take two weeks, because you will be trading plants with the village."

He held up the final scroll.

"And then there is this. An escort mission to Wave, where you will spend at least a month keeping bandits off the bridge builder."

He looked at the team, awaiting their choice.

Naruto walked up and picked the second scroll.

"Wave gives me a _real_ bad feeling Jiji. You might want to keep a back up ready just in case if someone takes that one," said Naruto seriously. Sarutobi took the look in Naruto's eyes and knew he had a point. Something about that mission gave him a bad feeling as well.

"Very well. Team 8, get geared up for a two-week run to Suna. It's in the desert, so it'll be extremely hot. Be sure to prep for 100 degree weather," she warned them.

"Hai, Sensei!"

Little did they know what would happen when they reached the Village of Sand...


	4. Chapter 4

It was a bit of a surprise to everyone that Naruto didn't complain about the heat, but Sasuke _did_.

"Aren't Uchiha supposed to be built to handle heat?" asked Naruto seriously.

"Flames, you ingrate, not this obscene heat wave!" snapped Sasuke. Apparently the higher temps made him very testy.

Naruto chuckled.

"And why aren't you complaining Naruto? Out of the three of you I expected you to be the one to complain the most," asked Kurenai.

His smirk told them he was up to mischief, as he undid his jacket to reveal...Shifter in his Glaceon form. The amount of cold he was generating made it easier for Naruto to bear the heat. Sasuke nearly castrated his teammate for not sharing it earlier.

"What do you think Shift? Has he suffered enough?" asked Naruto.

The icy canine blew a long stream of ice that cooled the air down to more manageable temperatures and Sasuke sighed in relief. About the only ones not suffering from the heat were Yume, Kurama and Hono. Even Advil was inside the odd sealed balls that most shinobi used to keep their Pokémon in when they weren't in a battle.

As they continued to walk through the desert, applying the water walking technique to keep from slipping on the sand, Naruto brought up something that had been bugging him.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask... Exactly _how_ many Pokémon are shinobi allowed to have?"

Kurenai adjusted her bag, and told him.

"Trainers are allowed six Pokémon, and no more. Rangers are allowed to have one Pokémon and three back ups. Also they are able to ask the assistance of up to six Pokémon, but those usually vanish if released or after they have helped the ranger. Breeders actually have the lowest amount, since they are only able to have four at any given time."

"Why only four?" asked Hinata.

"Because they are only allowed to keep two breeding pairs of any species, or three different ones and a Ditto if they're lucky to catch one. As far as I'm aware, Anko is the only Breeder who doesn't follow this rule."

"I have a question. Why do our seal balls look so weird?"

"Actually the form is universal, but the coloring varies from village to village...unless a shinobi with sealing knowledge figures out how to customize their own. To my knowledge only Jiraiya-sama has every successfully managed to customize his seal ball."

"What sort of coloration?" asked Hinata, curious.

"Well as you know, in Konoha the coloring is green and white. In Suna the colors will be a sand colored gold and night blue. Iwa has stone gray and silver. Kiri has sea green and ocean blue. And Kumo has lightning white and storm gray."

"It would be awesome to have an orange one!" said Naruto.

"Well there are shops that sell coverings that change the color of the ball, but the things are so expensive that most people don't bother with them," said Kurenai.

She chose to ignore the look of anticipation Naruto had, and could only pray that he would at least wait until he bought orange coverings for his.

It took them a few hours to reach Suna, once the heat no longer became a problem.

* * *

"Halt! Passports and reason for visit!" said the guard roughly.

Kurenai handed over the passports, since she decided to keep them on her to prevent Naruto from losing his.

"We're from Konoha. We brought some more medicinal plants to trade," she said patiently.

The man looked at the passports carefully before handing them back.

"You'll need to register your partners. Standard protocol," he said.

"Everyone, bring out your team," said Kurenai. Her Misdrevius hovered beside her.

Naruto grinned as Shifter jumped onto his head in his Eevee form, Advil yawned as it stood there, and Kurama wagged his tails from Naruto's shoulders.

The guard stared.

"This says here you lot only became genin two weeks ago. How the hell did this kid get three Pokémon in that time?!"

"I've had Shifter for years, Advil I found on the road, and Kurama from the egg," said Naruto proudly.

The guard looked at Hinata.

"Haru I got from the egg, and I rescued Yume," she explained.

He didn't bother to look at Sasuke, who was the only genin with a single Pokémon. It was unusual for kids to have more than one Pokémon before they reached Chunin.

"Whatever. Someone will escort you to the hotel soon, and any damages you cause will go on your tab. Try not to start a war," he asked bored.

* * *

"I'm bored," said Naruto.

"We don't care," said Sasuke.

"Can I at least go shopping or something? I always get overcharged in Konoha and..."

"Wait, what do you mean _overcharged_?!" asked Kurenai irate.

"About the only store that doesn't overcharge me on food is Ichiraku's. Why else would I stock up on ramen?" he asked.

"You mean to tell me that all this time, you've been paying more than everyone else for basic necessities?" asked Kurenai, her KI about to burst out.

"Food and clothes, yes, but not weapons or toiletries. You'd be surprised how quickly people learn their lesson when their store is a frozen wasteland that takes _hours_ to thaw out enough to get in," said Naruto evilly.

It was one of the first pranks he played on the store owners when he learned of Shifter's ability. It was also one of the few Hana and Tsume never reprimanded him for.

"Naruto, when we get back I'm going with you into the stores to have a...word...with the owners."

"Don't bother. Tsume-san had a word with them before, so now they only charge me double instead of five times the price," said Naruto with a snort.

"In any case, so long as you swear on Shifter's life that you won't cause any trouble, I suppose I can let you wander around," said Kurenai dryly.

"Done!" said Naruto, jumping off the bed. He was out of the hotel in less than a minute.

* * *

It was official, he was completely lost. On the plus side, he had already located the equivalent of a park and was playing with the kids.

He had been there for a good fifteen minutes before he felt the odd spiked KI from behind him.

"Yo."

The one spiking his KI was about his age, if a little older. He had red hair and a tattoo with the kanji for 'love'. He also had a gourd on his back.

"Run! It's Gaara!" yelled one of the older children.

Naruto didn't run, though he did have the ball in his hands.

Most of the other children scattered, those that didn't were collected by their parents rather quickly. It didn't take long for Naruto and the strange Gaara to be completely alone.

Gaara looked at the boy crazed.

"Will you prove my existence?"

"Hah? I'm only here to trade plants for the village. Here, catch!" said Naruto. He tossed the ball to Gaara, who looked at it strangely. Why had he thrown the ball?

"..."

"Come on, even a Suna nin must know how to play catch," said Naruto with a cheerful smile.

Gaara looked at the ball and then at the blond in disbelief. When he was younger and more calm, he often wished someone would play with him. And the odd thing was that this was a Konoha nin who hadn't run screaming or drawn a kunai when he let off his KI. It was...rather strange.

"Why? Why haven't you freaked out from the Killing Intent I have laced in the area?" he asked finally.

"Dude, I've felt worse from people who actually _want _to kill me and from girls in my class after I prank their hair. Your KI just tells me you're bored out of your mind," said Naruto.

Interesting fact about Naruto. He could tell someone's mood from their KI when it was unleashed. It came from being hated and attacked all his life, not to mention running from the mobs. Naruto could often tell the best people to hide with from his pranks because of it.

It was the initial reason why he trusted Tsume enough to hide behind her the first time he saw her...while he was running away from an angry mob on his birthday.

Gaara got over his shock long enough to toss the ball to Naruto. Naruto grinned, and it didn't take long for him and Gaara to have a game going on. To his amusement, even Gaara's Pokémon partner joined in. The tiny Larvitar was rather cute, and it chattered to Shifter and Kurama cheerfully.

Advil suddenly popped his head out of the bag Naruto was carrying his wallet in, and Gaara stared.

"...Is that a Psyduck?" he asked.

"You bet it is! Gaara meet Advil!"

"You named a Psyduck...Advil," said Gaara deadpan.

"You bet your ass I did! What did you name your partner?"

"...Chomper."

Gaara didn't twitch when Naruto laughed...though his mouth did quirk up when Chomper bit Naruto in the ass. He _liked_ his name!

Once Gaara finally removed his partner from Naruto (he was definitely trying hard not to grin...or he just didn't know how) Gaara went with Naruto around town. Naruto noted the looks Gaara got.

"Huh... And here I thought I was the only one who got those looks in my hometown."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the way people look at you is really similar to the way they stare at me. I didn't even know why they hated me so much until recently," said Naruto.

"I see... You are the same as me then."

When they reached the first food stall that wouldn't dare kick Gaara out, Naruto held out his hand.

"Name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I am called Gaara no Subaku," he said after a moment, shaking the blond's hand. Needless to say the owner stared a bit.

"DOBE! Where have you been? Kurenai-sensei sent us to look for you an hour ago!" yelled Sasuke.

"Oi, Teme! Meet Gaara! Gaara this is Duck Butt," said Naruto cheerfully.

"My name is Sasuke Fox Boy. Where the hell have you been? We haven't heard from you in over an hour and sensei was worried," said Sasuke.

"Ehehehe...I got lost. Gaara showed me how to get back at the market place," said Naruto sheepishly.

Before Sasuke could put the boy in a headlock, Chomper decided to take action. Naruto was okay in his books, if only because he treated his partner like a person and not a monster.

"YOW! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" yelped Sasuke as Chomper bit his ass.

Naruto roared with laughter and grabbed his camera. This was priceless! At least Sasuke had enough sense not to try to hurt the Pokémon. Gaara probably would have killed him if he tried.

"Chomper, off," said Gaara tonelessly.

It took Naruto a good five minutes to get his giggle fits under control. Sasuke glared at them both.

"Hey Gaara, want copies of Teme getting his ass bit by Chomper?"

Gaara's mouth quirked upward. Naruto was interesting...in a good way. He didn't feel the urge to brutally murder the blond, which was kind of odd for him.

Once their respective teachers came to retrieve them (with Baki giving Naruto and Gaara a very odd look) the two went their separate ways. But not before Gaara had secured a new penpal in Naruto. Now all he had to do was capture a bird Pokémon to deliver the letters...

* * *

A day before they were scheduled to return home, they got a message from the Hokage.

"We're going to back up Team 7. Apparently their client mislabeled the mission, so they need help."

Once they had the plants sealed (to keep them from dying) they got ready to leave. Naruto immediately vanished to say goodbye to Gaara and his team, to his sibling's shock. The two had really bonded when Naruto started acting like Kankuro was more evil than Gaara, which startled an actual laugh out of the boy.

It nearly gave Temari and Baki a heart attack right then and there.

* * *

Kakashi about had it with his team. While Shino and Kiba got along fine, the pink haired brat was a complete pain in the ass! Her only redeeming quality was that she was a walking shinobi textbook, but her practical skills didn't make up for it! About the only thing going for her was that she apparently had fine tuned chakra control.

He was going to chuck her into the hospital the second they got back and hope like hell that the girl grew up and lost some of her fan girl tendencies. Or at least became an asset to her team. As it was now, she was barely qualified to become cannon fodder.

Out of the three of them, only Sakura had frozen up when confronted with actual kill or die combat.

There was a knock on the door, and when he opened it, he actually had to keep from weeping with relief.

"Thank KAMI! I was beginning to think my request for back up would go unanswered," said Kakashi.

"What's the situation?" asked Kurenai seriously.

"Our client under ranked this mission by two at least. We encountered the Demon Brothers not too long outside the village, and as soon as we stepped foot into Wave we came across Zabuza of the Bloody Mist. I expect to run into him sometime in the week," said Kakashi.

"Really Kakashi, you're getting soft. Someone of your caliber should have seen he was faking his death," said Kurenai.

"He has a chunin level partner," said Kakashi in his defense. Kurenai said nothing, but her look said volumes.

"In any case, where the hell is your team?"

"Sakura is building her reserves at the moment, since she barely ranks as a genin with what she has now. Shino and Kiba are guarding the bridge since they displayed they could water walk a few days ago. I'm guarding the house," said Kakashi.

"And what exactly _have_ you taught your team Kakashi?" she asked frostily.

"Where is your team Kurenai?"

"Hinata went to find Sakura and the boys are with Kiba and Shino. I can trust them to handle anything that crops up."

"I still can't believe you got the last Uchiha and Naruto," said Kakashi.

"To be blunt, most of that was Anko's doing. She spends enough time with the kid that she knew he wouldn't react well with a perverted lazy jounin for a teacher. As for the Uchiha, well she figured it would be better if he was around someone who didn't worship the ground he walks on."

Kakashi reluctantly admitted she had a point. If he had gotten the Uchiha, he would have focused on getting the Sharingan up and running, if only to keep the civilian council off his ass. Other than that, he would have mostly done teamwork exercises.

"Since you're clearly not up to teaching at the moment, I'll see what progress your team had gotten while you were under the weather," said Kurenai.

Kakashi could only hope that once she learned how bad his genin were she would petition to have the brats given to someone else. He had protested being given a teaching position for years, but the Hokage decided to make him suffer each year as punishment for being late every time.

It didn't happen often, but occasionally a genin team was given to another jounin sensei if the one they have is bad. In any case, having your own genin given to someone else was an almost guaranteed way to blacklist yourself off of the Jounin Instructor roster.

Kakashi had been so very, very tempted to pass a single team just to do that very thing, if only to get out of doing it. Alas, none of the genin he ever got were worth the time it took to piss them off and get a new teacher.

Maybe now he could catch up on his Icha Icha without having to deal with brats...


	5. Chapter 5

Kurenai was twitching madly. This wasn't her infamous Pervert Twitch, or the recently acquired Naruto twitch. No, this was her '_I'm going to kill Kakashi if someone else doesn't beat me to it_' twitch.

Apparently Kakashi was so concerned about teamwork that he neglected to train his genin _anything_ outside of basic chakra control, which was one of the things Kurenai taught her kids within a week of having them.

Shino and Kiba _both_ complained about Kakashi's issues, chief among them was the inability to get anywhere on time. Fortunately both had enough common sense to ask for help from their clan to fill the two-hour gap that usually came with being Kakashi's student.

Sakura had no such help. And Kurenai was having great difficulty suppressing the urge to put the brat under a genjutsu in order to get the fan girl squeal to go away. Apparently she was one of the Uchiha horde.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no such reservations. After spending some time with Hinata, he had long since dropped any crush he had on Sakura. He slapped her behind the head, hard. She whirled, intent on delivering pain to the boy when Hinata hit her arms with her Jyuken strikes.

Let it never be said that being around Naruto didn't give her a bit of a confidence boost. The fact that Naruto was all too willing to give her actual praise hadn't hurt either. Plus there was the fact that Yume had been progressing far faster than any of the other Pokémon barring Shifter, who was well used to being a ninja partner at this point. Out of the lot of them, he was the second one to act level-headed, next to Kurenai's mischievous Misdrevious (try saying that ten time fast!). It was the main reason why he often went off with the two Vulpix to train. While he couldn't launch any fire attacks (due to the odd quirk in his genetic make up that allowed him to shift through his evolutionary forms) he could still help them with their accuracy.

Kurenai directed the three bipedal Pokémon to someone she knew had experience with training them. At this point Hono could unleash a flamethrower and a few of the medium level fire attacks, Haru could unleash enough of his aura to mimic Jyuken strikes (which got Hinata's clan off her back and helped her confidence boost) and Advil...well he could now unleash his psychic abilities without relying entirely on the special pills Naruto had.

Though to be fair, that was mostly because Advil had long since worked out who his real master/partner was. When word got out about a Psyduck with unusually strong psychic abilities in the village, his original owner came looking for him, wanting to get him back. If it were anyone _other_ than Naruto, the kid wouldn't have been able to entertain the idea of taking back the Pokémon.

However because of Naruto's reputation, the boy believed he actually had a chance to retrieve the duck Pokémon.

That was blown out of the water when Advil refused to even look at him, let go near him. When he tried to assault the Pokémon Kurenai kicked his ass...right before the ANBU arrested him.

He was now banned from ever getting a shinobi career in any village. And Advil was officially listed in every databank as Naruto's Pokémon.

"That does it. Since Kakashi clearly doesn't know how to properly train new genin, I'll go over a few basics. It won't help out much with Zabuza, but it will at least get you back on the right track," said Kurenai twitching.

"Thank kami! Someone who will actually teach us instead of forcing us to do boring ass D ranks under the guise of teamwork training!" said Kiba in relief.

"While I agree teamwork is important, Kakashi has clearly neglected technique training to supplement it. I'll have a word with the Hokage when we get back," Kurenai told them.

The genin settled in for a long training session, and the two boys could honestly say it was more productive than the ones Kakashi forced them to live through.

* * *

Naruto was out getting some new plants for his collection back home (he had left enough cash for the Hokage to make it a D rank that would be paid when he returned) when he ran into the girl. At least it looked like a girl. Beside her was a Glaceon, which had Shifter running over to say hi.

Needless to say the girl was very surprised to see the Eevee shift into its ice form and back.

"Hiya! This is Shifter and I'm Naruto! What's your name?"

"Haku, and this is Koori. What are you doing out here anyway? Aren't you a ninja?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to find some new plants for my hobby. I got some soil that none of the usual stuff I get will grow in because it's too moist, but the stuff around here might actually grow in."

Haku stared at the kid. For someone who was apparently hyper and cheerful, he didn't peg the kid as a gardening type. Apparently the kid could tell from the expression on his face, because he snickered.

"I know, I don't look like I could handle weeding for hours on end, but it's true. Plants just make me feel...happy I guess?"

Shifter changed into his Espeon form and said telepathically _"It's because you are a creature of the forest. Buildings don't suit your nature, but having large quantities of plants around make it bearable."_

Haku's eyes widened.

"He just turned into an Espeon! And earlier he was a Glaceon! How is that even possible?!"

"I don't know. I found him hiding near the trash one day and took him to the closest vet. She did a blood test and found that someone had experimented on him for a while, possibly since he came out of the egg. The only ones he can't do are Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon."

"That sounds horrible."

"I know. Shifter's been my best friend for years and if I ever find who did that to him I'll kick his ass!" said Naruto seriously.

Eventually the two dropped the subject while chatting about their partners. Haku was suitably impressed Naruto had three and had only been a graduate for all of two months. Haku then told a surprised Naruto he was in fact a boy, though his Glaceon was female.

At least the boy had helped Naruto find some useful and interesting plants to take home.

* * *

It was Kiba who noticed Advil acting oddly. The duck kept looking at the water almost longingly. Naruto, in true goofball fashion, took Advil with him while he water walked, while Shifter trained with Kurama and Yume.

It wasn't until noon that the duck did something that would have Sasuke, Kiba and Kuranai laughing, hard.

The Psyduck had somehow picked up the attack _Hydro Pump_...and used it to launch his partner into the air. Where he found that one, Naruto didn't know, but he was glad the duck had done it in a place that was deep enough to soften his landing.

Still didn't stop his team from laughing at him for the girlish scream...which had Sakura and Hinata tag teaming against Kiba and Sasuke.

Kurenai had about had it with the pink haired bint. She was too bloody foolish to be called a kunoichi, even the seduction corps wouldn't take this brat in, and they took in practically _any_ female who could handle the work.

Since the three were likely to get a new sensei anyway with how badly Kakashi had mangled their education, she came up with an evil, yet useful idea.

Anko often complained about the fact that she got bored with torturing grown nin day in and day out. And a bored Anko was a very dangerous thing to handle. Ibiki sometimes called _her_ in to reign in the woman.

However a genin team would appeal to her greatly. Now all she had to do was drag Sakura into the Breeder area and make the girl listen to reason that she wasn't suited to be a trainer, which was a high chakra life style once you reach a certain point.

She had an idea of how to go about it, and no village would say no to a large influx of breeders or medics. All she had to do was convince Sasuke to mention he liked girls who knew their way around healing and they could get a sudden increase in girls who liked to heal.

She knew exactly how to do that too. Naruto had given her blackmail on the boy early on, and it had made training the last Uchiha infinitely easier. Not to mention got his ego down to a reasonable level.

She had half a mind to strangle the civilian council for all the damage they had done to his psyche. Even she could see what would happen at the rate he was going. The boy wanted someone to praise him for _his_ accomplishments, not because of his clan.

At least she earned his respect early on. He listened to her more than he would have if Kakashi was his teacher.

* * *

Zabuza wasn't surprised to find Kurenai there. Naruto, while chatty, had kept the conversation to plants and a few sparse sentences about his teacher.

Kurenai had done her best to help Naruto with his issue breaking from genjutsu. So far they had managed to help him get one technique down, but it wasn't perfect.

Haku was disheartened to see Naruto and Shifter. The second Shifter saw Koori, he switched to Umbreon.

Naruto followed his line of sight, saw the Glaceon, and blinked. He put two and two together.

Haku was the mystery ANBU.

Sasuke was in the dome of mirrors with Hono and Kurama beside him. Yume and Shifter were guarding the bridge builder and Sakura, who was the most useless kunoichi to graduate in Konoha.

Naruto was outside the mirrors. He didn't want to hurt Haku _or_ Koori. And from what he could tell, neither did Haku.

Naruto had a unique gift in that he could understand people just from one conversation. It was something he picked up while avoiding mobs and drunken idiots who blamed him for the Fox. He was better at reading people than a Hyuuga or a Yamanaka. It was instinctive for him.

Haku didn't come off as cruel or cold. He came off as a breeder, a medic. He hated hurting others but would do it to survive.

Naruto knew that trying to talk Haku into standing down was not possible. Unless Zabuza could be convinced to leave Tazuna alone, Haku would continue to fight. So would Koori.

So he had to stall for time. When he heard of Gato, the man didn't strike him as someone who would pay a missing nin that amount of money when he could let Zabuza and Haku kill the target then stab them in the back.

When the mist cleared, revealing Zabuza pinned by Kakashi and Kurenai, they found something else as well.

Gato had arrived with an army of mercenaries waiting to kill everyone on the bridge.

Naruto was about to use his shadow clones when he noticed something.

Advil's massive headache, which always meant that he was about to unleash his psychic powers, was about to go away. So Naruto chose to do something better.

"Hey Advil, see the short guy at the end of the bridge? Use your power on him..." he whispered to the duck.

"Psy...ai ai..."

The duck Pokémon looked at the unamused Gato. His eyes, which had been scrunched up in pain, opened to reveal a multicolored pair of orbs. Gato yelled in shock as the Psyduck lifted him up in the air, far above the mercenaries.

"Hey Haku, think you can hit that rather annoying target from here?" asked Naruto.

Seeing the grim smile on Haku's face made it all worth the while.

Between Zabuza and the recently awakened Kiba, the mercenaries went down hard. Kurenai went to check on Naruto and Sasuke, who recently awakened his Sharingan.

"How did you know Haku wouldn't kill Kiba?"

"You learn a thing or two when you get chased as much as I do. I could tell after talking to him that Haku and Koori aren't cruel. They were just working under a jerk."

Kurenai stared at him...then made a mental note to introduce Naruto to Ibiki and Inoichi. It took skill to take in visual cues like that and actually get a person's personality down that fast.

In the end, the bridge was named after Naruto because he was the one to snap Inari out of his funk...and because he helped to kill Gato with Haku.

They were going home with Zabuza and Haku. Mostly because it was either come with them or leave the area. The Hunter Nin certainly weren't about to let someone as strong as the Demon of the Mist stay that close to Konoha.

* * *

Kurenai took Naruto into the T and I division where Anko worked.

"Is Ibiki in? I have a student he might be interested in."

The ANBU took one look at Naruto and then gave Kurenai a look.

"He's rather good."

"If he's traumatized and takes it out on us, we will blame you."

"Fair enough."

"Kurenai, why did you bring this kid here?"

Kurenai told Ibiki how Naruto was able to tell Haku's personality from a single conversation, enough that they were able to take out Gato.

Ibiki was very interested in the fact Naruto was able to tell the personality with a conversation. So to test it out he sent the kid in to chat with a missing nin they had captured earlier.

Naruto walked out and gave his opinion.

"The guys a total jerk. He's all me, me, me like the Civilian council but his underlying attitude is like the Hyuuga when they're pissed off. He acts all strong but he is insecure like Sasuke. He wants people to acknowledge him but everyone always praises the fact he works for someone else first. He's not a very good aim either."

Ibiki stared.

While his terminology was childish, it was very accurate. He turned to Kurenai.

"I think Naruto might be a natural at doing profiles."

"Give me a few days to check. If he is, Anko is going to be a very happy woman."

* * *

Anko, as it turned out, was thrilled to have Naruto work with her. Too bad she had to split time between training him and her new team. Kakashi was finally blacklisted from the Jounin sensei roster.

He couldn't have been happier. Even though it meant that he wouldn't be allowed missions for the next month or so. It wasn't that he hated children, far from it. It was that he didn't know a thing about teaching. It was a miracle he managed to get the three he had so far on tree walking.

All in all, things were finally getting back to normal for the teams...up until the Ranking Exams came up.

Naruto was practically giddy. The ranking exams for Fire Country were about to begin soon. And this year there was another exam going on.

The Chunin exam.

While the Chunin Exam were fairly straight forward, the Ranking exams wasn't.

The Ranking Exam had three parts. The practical, the written, and the battle stage. What made it different from the Chunin exams was that each team was split and mixed with others from their village. Those three would have to get through each exam either individually (which in Konoha lowered your score, unless it wasn't your fault) or as a team to get through the exam. The practical was similar to a survival test. The team had to get through a series of ten obstacles and reach the end within a certain time limit, which was posted throughout the grounds. The written was a test of their knowledge about their partners, status ailments and species. The final exam was a one on one battle. You had to get through at least three battles in order to go against a jounin, and if you beat them then you got a badge. The more badges, the higher your ranking.

In order to give the new genin a chance to survive, they included an area where they could catch or convince new partners to join their team in the survival area. Most of them were fairly common ones that hatched but didn't get a partner. There were a few rare Pokémon hidden around the place, but the chances of finding one were almost next to impossible. In the spirit of fairness, the Inuzuka and Aburame often contributed a few odd Pokémon from their breeding grounds, but never more than ten.

Naruto heard from Hana that this year was special, because the Inuzuka was setting two Absol into the area. It was almost impossible to catch those, and they were rarely given outside the clan.

When that was let out, more than a few Konoha genin wanted to get their hands on one.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto was practically bouncing in his seat at the ramen stand. It was fairly simple why.

He was eager to take the Ranking exams. Gaara was next to him, enjoying a beef ramen (Naruto's treat, as he was aghast that the boy had never had a proper ramen before) while his brother and sister were watching him with undisguised wariness.

Gaara rather enjoyed his bowl, and the fact that the owner and his daughter treated him like family the same way they did Naruto.

"So Gaara, you gonna try to get some new partners during the test?"

"Indeed. Perhaps here they will actually approach me without being forced. All the desert pokemon don't seem to like me much."

Naruto had his head tilted, a universal sign of confusion.

"Then what about the one in your gourd?"

"Chomper seems to be the lone exception."

"Not Chomper...he's eating out of his own bowl. I mean the one hiding in your gourd."

"...What?"

Shifter turned into his Espeon form.

_'It looks like one of my kin has taken shelter in your gourd. I don't know who she is, but I do know she is able to blend in with the sand. I think she's hiding in Chomper's spot.'_

Gaara's eyes widened, and he pulled off his gourd. When he undid the cork, a pair of eyes looked back at him. He could hear something shifting in the sand as a head poked out of the gourd's opening.

Temari and Kankuro both nearly choked on their ramen.

Shifter went back to his regular form and went nose to nose with the Pokémon. The Eevee touched his nose to the unknown Pokémon and a light spark passed between the two.

"Well Shift? What is he?" asked Naruto.

He went back to Espeon form.

_'I do not know the name of his species, but I do know this. He's one of the eighteen evolutionary paths for Eevee.'_

"Do you think you can try his form?"

The Espeon cocked his head, before trying. Without warning, he turned into a new form which Naruto had never seen before.

It was two colors. A gold and sand color. His mane and paws were the darker gold color and flowed like sand on a dune. His main body was a lighter sand color that blended perfect with Gaara's gourd. He almost looked like a desert fox with the coloring and ears.

_'It seems that all I have to do is come into contact with a new path in order to shift into it. Interesting,'_ said Shifter once he returned to being an Espeon.

"What does she say?" asked Gaara.

Shifter listened to his cousin, and answered Gaara.

_'She apologizes for stealing his spot, but the sandstorm that day was rather fierce and she was injured at the time. Once she got used to your scent, she rather liked being around you so she stuck around. She wants to know if you wouldn't mind allowing her to stay.'_

Gaara was obviously surprised, but in a good way.

"Does she mind traveling in the gourd?"

_'Not at all. She said it was rather comfortable.'_

Gaara smiled and nearly gave Temari a heart attack. It was the first time she had ever seen her younger brother smile without that insane look in his eyes. At least he had a new partner who accepted his presence.

"So whatcha gonna name her?" asked Naruto.

Gaara looked at the tiny fox, and said "Nozomi."

The tiny Pokémon barked, and jumped onto Gaara's shoulder the same way Shifter did to Naruto occasionally. Gaara almost looked panicked but decided to follow Naruto's visual queues to the new Pokémon. Eventually he relaxed, though he had to get used to the affection the tiny fox-like pokemon was giving him.

* * *

Naruto was teamed up with Rock Lee, a genin from the year before and Shino from Anko's new team. Hinata ended up on a team with Tenten and Chouji. Sasuke got stuck with Sakura and Ino to his supreme displeasure. Kiba was left with Shikamaru and Hinata's cousin Neji, who according to him 'acted like he had a stick lodged so far up his ass it was a miracle he didn't shit splinters', or so he claimed.

Naruto and Hinata actually snickered at the description, though it was fairly common among Hyuuga.

Rock Lee was an unusual case, as he couldn't use a single genjutsu or ninjutsu to save his life. His chakra core was just barely genin level, yet it refused to cooperate, so he had decided to focus his energy entirely on taijutsu, seeing as that was the only thing he could do.

However Naruto gave him an idea that apparently had never occurred to Lee or his rather horrifying older doppelganger before.

Fuinjutsu.

From what Naruto understood of the subject (which was more than even the Hokage knew) it didn't require nearly as much chakra to set up, only a spark to use. Sure some of the higher forms required at least a chunin level chakra core, but most of the elemental ones could be used by genin if they knew what they were doing.

Lee could set of an explosive tag with his chakra, and that was roughly the standard for most element tags. Gai, his teacher, when asked why they never tried teaching Lee seals, was so surprised that when they did experiment they were shocked at the results.

Lee could use seals in place of his jutsu. The only trick was to create the same effects the jutsu like Raikiri caused, among others.

Naruto became Lee's eternal friend for finding a new way for him to be a well-rounded ninja.

Of course Naruto had Kurama incinerate his new jumpsuit from Gai. He was fashion challenged, not insane.

* * *

Before Naruto and his new team went into the forest area set aside for the Ranking Survival test, they ran into Kurenai. He could see the timekeeper, the Pokémon called Porygon-Z. The little virus sat on a digital clock which had the time. Inside the forest was the area for the first test. If the three of them passed, then they could leave the tower to try their luck at the survival portion.

This go around, the teams had exactly three days to get to the end point. If they caught some extra Pokémon, that was their prerogative.

Naruto also finally learned the name of Shifter's new form.

Seteon. (Named after the Egyptian God of the Desert Set, since I couldn't find an actual name.)

"Remember kids, in order to get to the next part of the ranking exam, you have to get at least 70 percent of the questions correct. And no cheating, because unlike the Chunin exam we want you to know the answers instead of stealing them," said Kurenai.

"Wait, you mean we have to steal the answers during the chunin exam?"

"I'm not going to tell you any more. In any event, since you chose to raise your rank instead of going through the exams, you won't be able to participate in the chunin examination."

"What?!" said Naruto.

"The Ranking and Chunin exams are held together for a reason. Most don't bother taking them until they reach chunin or have failed that exam too many times. Since you didn't know, if you raise your rank high enough, you get discounts on items for your partners and more items available to you. Also, if you get to the second part we'll provide special capture balls."

"Could you stop please, this is getting too confusing..." said Naruto, holding his head.

Kurenai chuckled.

"How about I tell you how the ranking and exams areas came to be instead? That should give you some perspective," said Kurenai.

The exam wouldn't start for their team for another hour. Each team was given fifteen minute intervals before another was sent in, in order to give them a fighting chance. It was more or less a way to insure the teams got to the center tower injury free, since they had no idea where the others were and the only way for the next team to get in was if the one before them had made it on time. Stalling in hopes of attacking the competition wasn't encouraged here.

They sat down, and she told them.

"A long time ago, before the Elemental Countries were around, the world was connected through technology. Pokemon were just as widely available as they are today, only they tended to stick to certain continents instead of the Elements they suited best like now. As a way to test new trainers, the old way was to have the trainers wander around challenging 'gyms' to get badges in order to earn the right to be called a 'Pokemon Master'.

"Naturally this system wouldn't work very well in the shinobi countries of today. Mostly because of the tension between countries, the Kages of old decided to create ranking exams in place of gym battles. During these exams, the shinobi would earn badges based on their performance. The more badges you earn, the higher the rank you get among the shinobi villages. These badges are actually the remnants of the old gyms, created the same way they were millennia ago before the world was reshaped due to a series of massive earthquakes."

"I have a question! What part does the forest exam have to do with the rankings?" asked Lee.

"Back during the days of the gym challenges, there was an area called the 'Safari Zone' where trainers could capture new Pokémon with specially designed balls. It was so widely popular that the Kages added it to the exam. It also served as a lesson in fairness, so people outside our village could capture Pokémon that are only available in the Land of Fire. After all, the shinobi who guard the outlying areas tend to take it badly if a shinobi from a rival village shows up for no other reason than to capture Pokémon for their team. It creates unnecessary tension for all the parties."

"So what sort of things do the examiners look for?" asked Naruto.

"The conditions vary, but in Konoha we value teamwork and leadership abilities the most. I hear it ranges between villages, which is why they are open to anyone of genin rank," said Kurenai.

She looked at the time, then pointed at her watch. They took the hint and got ready to run. The doors opened, and they heard Porygon-Z say in its odd voice _"Welcome to the ranking exam. Please note that the forest area is currently empty of Pokémon. Any attempts to capture them without the use of the balls provided to you later will result in immediate disqualification. Thank you, and have a nice day."_

Naruto paused long enough to shout a hurried thank you to the Porygon-Z. The digital Pokémon blinked, then chirped a reply back.

* * *

The teams were soon separated into individuals. The test they had to do was more of a Q and A than anything else, and they had to make it on their own merits in order to pass.

The only reason they had to enter with different teammates was because they wanted the kids to get used to working with others from their own village. Plus it gave them a chance to create a strategy ahead of time to work with the people they had gotten beforehand.

Pokemon weren't allowed in the first part, since some people might have a Psychic type to cheat for them. So Naruto was stuck in a small cubical thing with weird buttons. He read the instructions in confusion.

_In order to answer a question, pic the corresponding button/color. Please pick carefully as you only have one chance to review your answers and change them before your score is tallied._

Clearly someone had designed this test just for Naruto in mind, because the instructions were simple enough for even a knucklehead who had never seen a computer before could understand it.

Naruto input his name and Ninja ID number using the Kanji keyboard and waited.

A regular Porygon appeared with a wink.

"_**Welcome user Uzumaki Naruto! Since this is your first registered use of the Ranking Exam Computers, I'll walk you through the basics before you get started."**_

Naruto liked this Pokemon already!

"_**This here is the question. If you need help with the words or want the question verbalized, just ask,"**_said the Porygon, highlighting the top part of the screen. Naruto didn't recognize some of the Kanji, so it was a good thing Porygon was there to help.

"_**These are the answers. Each question has either multiple correct answers or just one with two wrong. In order to select your response, just push the button with the color that has your answer. Also, please don't press them too hard, as the button could become stuck and you might possibly fail the exam."**_

Porygon highlighted the buttons Naruto could see on his desk.

"_**Do you have any questions? I will tell you now that I am restricted from giving you any hints to the answers, but I can help you in other ways."**_

"Nah, I'm good."

"_**In that case, let us proceed. Question 1: What is the ailment that causes Pokémon to lose health over time during battle if left untreated?"**_

Naruto looked at the answers.

"Let's see, Confusion, Burned, Poison, All of the Above. I know confusion causes Pokémon to hurt themselves, burns hurt like hell...and poison tends to suck health unless you have an antidote... Ah hell... I select All of the Above!" said Naruto, who couldn't pick one.

Naruto heard a ding from the computer.

"_**You are correct! All three ailments cause Pokémon to lose health over a period of time during battle. Confusion can be cured by recalling the Pokémon so that they can recover. Burns can be healed through either Burn Heal or certain plants like Aloe. Poison can be fixed with a simple antidote or other common plants."**_

"_**Question 2: Which of the following is not an evolutionary stone?"**_

"Let's see...Fire Stone, Dusk Stone, Kage Stone, Water Stone. I've never heard of Kage Stone, so I'll pick that."

"_**Correct! Kage Stone is not an evolutionary stone. Next question."**_

"_**Question 3: How many times can a Pokémon evolve?"**_

And so it went. Naruto found the questions much easier than he expected. Then again he spent more time looking up things about Pokémon than actually paying attention in history class. It didn't hurt that Naruto asked Porygon to read the questions out loud for him...and occasionally an answer.

After thirty minutes, Naruto came out and waited. His mock team was outside wondering what was taking him so long.

"So did you pass?" asked Lee.

"I have no idea. Let's go see the scoring."

The screen was blank, so they got something to eat. Naruto was the one to discover that they had packs for sale that included survival gear to the forest. Since he had yet to find any of those specialty shops that sold colors to put on pokemon capture balls, he had enough money to get a set for the three of them.

Lee and Shino tried to protest, but Naruto waved them off saying they could pay him back later.

They heard an odd bell-like sound and a shinobi came over the intercom.

"_May I have your attention please. All testing for the first phase has been completed. The tallying will be done in five minutes. Your scores will be shown on the screen in the lobby at that time. Anyone who has scored under seventy points, we thank you for your time and would like to inform you that the Chunin Exam is set for two days from now if you wish to try your luck there. Thank you."_

"...Didn't Kurenai say that people who chose to take the ranking exam can't take the chunin exam?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, but I think they allow those who fail a second chance to redeem themselves. But I thought you had to be on your own team to take them?"

"There's a special by-law that allows you to take the exam with your 'Ranking Team' in case your teammates pass without you," Shino informed them.

"Well that's good to hear," said Naruto.

Another bell-like sound, and they all went to see the scores.

Naruto found himself the source of a large amount of disbelief as almost everyone from Konoha turned to stare at him in shock.

A perfect score. Naruto, the dead last at the Academy and Number One Knucklehead Idiot shinobi in Konoha, had gotten a perfect score. None of the other people managed that. Even Sakura and Shikamaru, two of the smartest people in rookies, could barely hit a ninety-three percent score.

"Ehehehe..." said Naruto nervously.

"I don't believe it," said Sasuke, and Kiba nodded in agreement.

* * *

**I changed the written part because it would make sense for them to use computers in order to weed out the applicants faster. I hope that clears it up a bit.**


	7. Chapter 7

Iruka looked at the score in disbelief and pride. Naruto had beaten everyone and gotten every answer, even the one that he would miss, right. He looked at the fellow examiners.

"Well?"

"He qualifies for the badge of knowledge," said Shikaku.

"How? How the hell did that demon brat get them all right!?" asked one of the more biased examiners.

"Porygon! Could you explain to him how he got them right?" asked Iruka, angry at the other chunin.

"_**Of course! The only assistance he asked for was that I read the questions and a few answers out loud for him. I watched him work out the answers verbally before he even considered putting them in. And he went over what he knew again to correct an answer he made earlier. I did not sense the presence of any outside help during the exam."**_

Iruka turned to the rather irritated chunin.

"Shifter is the only one on Naruto's team that has any known telepathy, and that's when he's in Espeon form. He remained in his Eevee form the entire time. So Naruto did not cheat. He passed on his own merits."

The other chunin grumbled.

"So, Shikamaru, Sakura, Hinata and Shino all get the standard Knowledge badge. Naruto get's the Specialty badge which increases his team's intelligence. Agreed?" said Shikaku.

Those who scored a 95 or higher in the first phase got the actual badges handed out to the trainers of old. Scoring a ninety earned a replica made of inferior materials.

* * *

Naruto was like an Inuzuka hound on a leash, ready to be set loose on the forest. His team was among those who passed.

Their team was the first set loose in the forest, all thanks to Naruto. It meant they had a better chance at finding the Pokémon they wanted before anyone else.

They all had the special Pokéballs in their bags.

With the whistle, which indicated the breeders had released the Pokémon, they were off like a shot.

"So...which Pokémon do you want to catch first?" asked Naruto.

"Hitmonlee!" said Lee energetically.

"I personally wish to find a Combee."

"I don't care who I get, so long as they get along with Shifter and the others!" said Naruto cheerfully. It was true. Naruto had no set requirement for his team, only that they get along. He never saw Pokémon for their stats, looks or abilities. He saw them for their personality and friendliness.

* * *

Their first obstacle was a fellow trainer. Getting past him turned out to be easier than expected thanks to Shifter.

Ever since Naruto first teamed up with the shapeshifting Eevee, the Pokémon's level and overall stats had shot through the roof.

The jounin had laughed and gave them something that most of the other trainers wouldn't get this early on. Information.

"You're good for a bunch of rookies. And I like your attitude kid! So I'll part with something you'll thank me for later. The obstacles in this forest aren't the kind you're used to. They're other trainers! Who knows, you might be lucky enough to run into Hokage-sama!"

Naruto wasn't the only one whose eyes widened.

"No way! The old man is in here too?"

"Yup. What, did you think he spends all his time doing paperwork?"

The three didn't say a word, but their expressions said it all. The jounin laughed, hard.

"Listen to these wise words little ninja. The bane of all shinobi kind is not the samurai or the bijuu...it is the evil known as paperwork. Once you hit chunin you'll be stuck doing _loads_ of the stuff, and the higher your rank the worse it will get. There's a damn good reason why none of the jounin commanders has tried to take over for the Hokage!" cackled the jounin.

Naruto chuckled evilly.

"Paperwork has yet to match my Shadow Clones, dattebayo!"

The jounin laughed harder. Then he waved them off. He could hear another group coming and he had to get his next Pokémon ready.

While the shinobi were only allowed to carry a set amount of Pokémon at a time, they were allowed to capture as many as they wanted. The ones they didn't carry remained in a communal training grounds with the Ninja ID of their trainer around their neck or arm. When they wanted to switch them out, they went to a nearby computer and put their ball in the slot. The Pokémon would receive a signal and head to the nearest teleport unit to be taken to their trainer.

After every six battles, he would head to the nearest Porygon-Z timer, which unknown to everyone but the 'obstacles', doubled as a teleport computer. It was how the got the Pokémon some trainers caught and had too many out of the forest until needed.

The teams could use them if they knew about them, but most didn't. It was a nice little perk and what some of the more nerdy shinobi called a 'Easter Egg', whatever that meant. It was a term used years before the shinobi countries were even formed.

* * *

Naruto was eager to fight the Hokage, who wouldn't be using his full strength since there were so many genin out there. However, after a particularly rough battle that landed Lee with a new fighting Pokémon with a duel element (Poliwrath...where it came from Naruto had NO idea) they decided to camp out near a clock. Most people never paid it any mind at all.

Naruto, however, was chatting up with the Porygon-Z at the top. Finally, in a fit of annoyance, the thing asked him if he was going to use the teleport device and switch Pokémon or not, because he wanted to sleep.

Which left a gaping Lee and Shino.

"We're allowed to use the communal training ground?" asked Shino.

Porygon-Z rolled his eyes.

"_**Any shinobi can use it. You just have to know where the devices are located. You really don't expect the 'obstacles' to lug all those extra Pokémon out of the forest during the exam do you? Though for some reason only the examiners actually know about them. They don't exactly try to hide it."**_

"Naruto, I never thought I would say this out loud, but thank Kami you can be an annoying brat," said Shino seriously.

"Thanks, I think. Wait a minute, what do you mean annoying brat?!"

After that, they didn't try to hold back on capturing any Pokémon they wanted on their team.

* * *

Naruto was gleeful for one reason. They had come across one of the Inuzuka Absol that Hana had mentioned, and Sasuke would kill him if he got one.

Naruto grabbed Kurama. It was time for the fox to earn his keep. Naruto wasn't going to evolve the fox until it hit level 25, which was nine levels away.

Hana had told him the best way to insure that any Inuzuka Pokémon was as loyal as a nin hound was to show it who was boss and earn its respect. Her Houndour was like that.

"Kurama, Flame Wheel!"

"Vul!"

The female Absol narrowly dodged the attack.

"Swift!"

Shuriken-like stars hit the Pokémon, and Absol growled. Another idiot who wanted her to be their partner? He was going to have to work for it. The last five hadn't been worth her time.

Absol used Fury Cutter, and Kurama narrowly dodged the attack. Shino frowned.

"Naruto, I think that Absol is..."

Naruto growled and said "Kurama, Flame Tackle!"

When the blond initially heard of Volt Tackle, his initial thought was to combine it with the other elements. So far he had succeeded with Kurama in creating Flame Tackle, a move not seen normally.

The Absol had seen enough Inuzuka attacks to know that dodging was the best bet. Too bad it tripped on a root.

It got hit, but it didn't go down. It hit Kurama with a nasty slash attack, and the Vulpix cried out in pain.

"Kurama! Return!" yelled Naruto. The Vulpix would live, but fighting wasn't a good idea.

"Go Shifter!"

"Vee!" Shifter was ticked and ready to get some payback.

"Shifter, use Shadow Ball!"

Shifter turned into Umbreon and went at the Absol with a vengeance. The Absol was surprised a little, since the brown canine preferred Espeon because it could talk to its partner.

"Now use Bite!"

Shifter bit the Absol in the leg, and Naruto waited.

The Absol was weakened, but not out.

"Shifter, switch out with me!"

"Breon!"

Shifter tagged Naruto with its paw, a universal sign of a tag out. Naruto charged at the Pokémon, startling it and eventually pinned it to the ground with a kunai.

"So are you going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" he asked.

Absol took a good look at his eyes, and bowed its head in submission. At least this kid wasn't a total wimp.

It accepted the Pokéball with grace.

"Sweet! I got Absol! I'm going to name you Kiseki!"

"Naruto, Absol are known as the Disaster Pokemon for a reason."

"I know, but that's why her name is Kiseki! Because with me she's gonna make miracles happen!"

Shino sighed. There was no point debating with him.

* * *

_Elsewhere in the forest..._

The lone male Absol looked at the red-head with something akin to respect. While he disliked the smell of blood, he was born and breed to fight and fight hard. The sight of injured parties because of his doing (when he wasn't doing it for the wrong reasons anyway, the older Absol were quite specific about right and wrong) and winning a battle got his blood flowing.

"Absol!" he cried. This kid didn't even use his Pokémon, and still he beat him, a level thirty. If that wasn't worth his respect nothing was.

The red-head threw a ball at him and he didn't fight it. This trainer would be worth working with, he could tell.

"I don't believe it..." said Kankuro.

"I can. Ever since he ran into that blond idiot Gaara's been easier to live with. The only person he regularly threatens to kill is you, and let's face it...you're pretty damn annoying," said Temari.

"Temari...what do I do with this ball?" asked Gaara confused. He never actually had to _use_ the devices before because Chomper preferred his little hole in his gourd and Nozomi liked to cuddle with Chomper.

Temari blinked, before pulling out a piece of string.

"For now why don't you wear it around your neck. That way people won't try to steal him once they learn you have an Absol now," she said sensibly. Mostly because Gaara didn't have pockets.

They had been steadily going through the 'obstacles' which happened to be battles between older, more experienced trainers and rangers.

Apparently in Konoha, the obstacle course wasn't a series of inane tasks that only Pokémon could clear. They wanted their shinobi to gain experience as fighters. Temari could appreciate that since they rarely got to fight outside sanctioned matches due to Gaara's sand. For the first time Gaara was letting them fight so he could train his team in peace.

If Chomper didn't evolve into Pupitar before this was over, she would eat her smallest fan.

* * *

As luck turned out, Naruto did finally run into the Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen loved the Ranking exams...it gave him a good excuse to be out of that damn office for days on end without Homura or Kotaru bitching about it. Sarutobi deliberately left piles and piles of hellish paperwork for them to deal with. It was payback for the endless council meetings.

Best of all, if a team could defeat his pokemon (whether together or alone, it didn't matter) they almost automatically gained a rank and often got a field promotion as a bonus.

Why? Because you needed serious skill and brains to take down a Kage's weakest pokemon. Sarutobi's Primeape was level 40, a good twenty to thirty levels above most of the other pokemon in here.

Naruto and his team had the good luck of finding the only station to heal pokemon in the entire forest. And, after filching a good third of it's stock, finally ran into Sarutobi.

The Hokage grinned evilly.

"Care to challenge for a rank? Beat me and it's an almost guaranteed field promotion as well as a rare badge," he told them pleasantly, leaning on a staff.

"'Almost guaranteed?'" asked Shino suspiciously.

"Well, there have been a few cases of people going too far in an attempt to beat the forest master I/E me, which resulted in permanent damage or death to their pokemon partners. We don't exactly let that slide over a simple ranking exam."

"Ah."

"And, as a bonus, if you do really well and impress me with your partners, you don't have to take the Chunin exam."

"Really?" said Naruto. Okay, now he was going to beat the old man if it killed him.

Sarutobi brought out his partner, Akuma. Named because as a Mankey, it had learned rather quickly how to get what it wanted. Generate enough paperwork to make the Kage cry tears, and you had him by the balls. Hence the name Akuma, demon.

* * *

Jiraiya was enjoying the time at the Hot Springs, ignoring the explosions and crashes from the ranking exam forest. He had come to warn Sarutobi about an invasion by Orochimaru during the Chunin exam...he really didn't care about the rankings.

Most shinobi only concerned themselves with their own ranks before their Pokémon. Even Minato had been that way!

Besides, what are the odds someone would become a Kage by earning the field badge through all five ranking exams?

_Little Known Fact: There are three known ways to become a Kage._

_One: be elected by the current one or council. Two: beat the current Kage in combat and acknowledged by the council as the better leader. Or three, which had never become an issue at this point: Earn all five Field badges in the various ranking exams in each of the Big Five and a majority of the badges in each village._

_Because of an emphasis on strengthening yourself over your Pokémon, this third option has never actually become an issue. Also, the odds of beating all five Kages or highest ranking shinobi in each of the Big Five were astronomical it wasn't even funny._

_Then again, there hasn't been a shinobi like Naruto around before either._

* * *

Sarutobi was outright impressed by Naruto. Instead of charging in like he would in his normal mood, he decided to wait and come up with a plan of attack first with his mock team.

This was the entire reason they split up the genin cells from each village. Sometimes the jounin sensei never bothered to work with another team, and it made things harder for the genin to transition without their usual teammates.

Naruto was a special case. He didn't see rivalries and clan abilities. He just saw people who he could work with.

As a result, Akuma was hard pressed to fend off the tag team of Shino's Kakuna using String Shot and Naruto's Vulpix using fire style attacks, some of which he had never even heard of. Then Lee let out his Machop, and things really went downhill.

By the time Naruto let out Shifter, Akuma was in no shape to fight.

Sarutobi held up a hand.

"Enough. Akuma is unable to battle. Congratulations. Once the ranking exam is over you'll have earned a Chunin vest for certain. Not to mention the coveted badge of the Leaf master."

"What does the Leaf master mean?"

"It means you are strong enough to take out the best and most powerful trainer in the entire village. Most people can't manage that until they hit mid chunin at least, and you did it while you were still wet-behind-the-ears genin. Your clans would be proud," he said.

Shino stood straighter. While his Kakuna had evolved once Sarutobi declared the fight over, his father would be very pleased to hear about this.

Lee now had something to lord over Neji, since the boy had made many disparaging comments about training his Pokémon alongside himself.

Naruto...well, he would be getting a lot more respect once people heard he beat the Hokage with the only Pokémon he had gotten from the egg.

Today was looking up!


	8. Chapter 8

Kurenai was among many eager sensei to hear how the kids did. The 'written' scores were already news (really, they only had an actual written test during the chunin exam. There were too many variables for Pokémon to do the same!) and the fact Naruto came out with the only perfect score was headlines to everyone else...barring Iruka who noticed Naruto read Pokémon manuals during his history lessons and never commented on it.

Seriously, he was pretty damn proud of the brat for that one. It was something he could brag about!

So when the teams started coming out, Iruka looked everywhere for Naruto and his group. Kurenai joined him.

They ended gaping when Naruto came out with an escort of the Hokage himself!

"Hah! Most fun I've had in years! At this rate you'll be an examiner for the next batch of idiots!" laughed Sarutobi.

"You put up a good fight, for an old man stuck behind a desk all day!" laughed Naruto.

"No ramen for you!" chuckled Sarutobi.

"Aw man!"

"Naruto, why is the Hokage leading you out?"

"I'll explain later over food. This brat may succeed in doing something no one has yet to accomplish!"

Hinata came out looking fine, but had barely scraped a pass from the examiners with her team. Sasuke failed utterly because he had been stuck with a pair of fan girls. Kiba came out bitching like mad because he had spent half the time arguing about fate with Neji.

Needless to say Sasuke wasn't going to take the Chunin Exam with his mock team. There was no way in hell he was going to deal with both fan girls in Area 44 with no adult supervision! They might very well jump him!

* * *

Iruka wasn't the only one staring at the three. Gai was giving many rants about Lee's "youthfulness" which no one paid any mind to when the Hokage told them how Naruto managed to work with his team to defeat Akuma, the sadistic Primeape of the Hokage who lived to make the man cry from the sheer amount of paperwork it generated dealing with it.

Shino had even agreed to join them, since it wasn't every day you got to eat lunch with the Hokage. Plus as long as he didn't do anything stupid he was almost guaranteed a chunin position.

Either way, his clan would be very pleased with him.

Iruka was still in shock that Naruto had beaten the Hokage, even if it was with the help of his team. Akuma was very, very vicious, which was why the Hokage hated having to use him. Well, that and the paperwork. Dear kami, the paperwork...

"That reminds me! I caught a female Absol while we were in there!"

"Naruto, which Pokémon did you use against Hokage-sama?" asked Kurenai.

"Kurama. It wasn't until after he got tired out that I brought out Shifter, by then the old man called it quits."

"The brat is devious, underhanded...and the best damn trainer I've seen in years. Most shinobi never try to experiment with Pokémon moves, and those that do are looked down upon. Had you been fighting me directly, it would have been a bitch to counter against."

"We are awesome that way!" said Naruto.

"Either way, the fact you beat me through teamwork and the weakest Pokémon on your team all but earns you a Chunin vest. Keep this up and I might just send you to the other ranking exams."

"Which badges have I earned anyway? Kurenai-sensei said they're remnants of the days before shinobi, but I didn't really get it..."

The Hokage thought it over.

"Well, you had the only perfect score in the written, which earned you the Knowledge badge. The real one, not the generic one we hand out to those who hit a score of ninety. You accidentally found out about the teleport system in the forest, which most people overlook for some reason, so that qualifies you for the extremely rare Hawk-Eye badge. You found the only medical station long before anyone else knew about it, so you earn the Joy Badge...and no, I have no idea why they call it that. Finally, you beat me through teamwork and skill, so you earned the Leaf Badge. All in all, it's a pretty impressive resume for a new genin. Your ranking qualifies you to buy almost all the specialty balls in the village barring a few of the harder to make ones."

Shino perked up at that. He only needed to raise his rank by three in order to buy Net balls, which worked perfectly with his team. Judging by the Hokage's tone, he had managed that thanks to Naruto.

"And then there's the fact that the higher your ranking, the more you get paid in missions that involve pokemon."

"Really?" said Naruto.

"Why do you think most shinobi even bother to go into that exam when half the time their advancement exam comes up? The Ranking are easier to take and they ensure you get a pay raise."

"He's right. Death is very rare during a Ranking. Chunin exams, it's almost a guarantee," commented Iruka.

"Plus there is the fact that the first half is an actual written exam with questions so hard that most jounin are hard pressed to answer them," said Kurenai amused.

Hey, they just earn Chunin rank after beating the Hokage without doing something stupid. She can divulge a little info about an exam they weren't forced to take.

"That computer exam was easy! Half that stuff I knew because of the fact I read Pokémon books instead of listening to Iruka-sensei!" said Naruto with pride.

"I know, and the only reason I never bothered to bust you about that fact was because you actually spent the time constructively reading a text-book," said Iruka dryly, a tick mark showing on his head.

"Well, since the practicals are almost over, let me warn you now that you have only a week before the battles begin. The farther you make it in the free for all, the better the chance that you will get the coveted Fire Medal. Most people who make it past the second round get the generic one which doesn't do much at all," said Sarutobi.

He was not looking forward to returning to his office. It was fun while it lasted though.

* * *

Sarutobi found some surprising resistance to the fact Naruto's group made chunin with the rare 'field promotion through Ranking Exam'. Luckily for the blond, there were so many cameras set around the 'obstacle' areas that his promotion was guaranteed once the Clan Heads saw him work with his team to beat Akuma with such unconventional tactics.

No one with that amount of skill should be stuck a genin because of the fact the Civilian council hated him.

However this was a shinobi village, and in rare display of the fact that it was a not a democracy as the Civilian half believed after Sarutobi kept caving to their ridiculous demands, the Hokage put his foot down and said that the decision was final. Naruto, Lee and Shino would become Chunin once the Ranking Exams were finally over.

* * *

"I heard you beat the Hokage during the practicals," said Shibi.

"I lay all credit to Naruto. He was the one to come up with the idea of using Kakuna's String Shot in a way that Akuma would be trapped by a web of flames."

Shibi's eyebrow raised.

"Naruto had me use String Shot, then had Kurama set it ablaze while it was around Akuma. Lee had his Machop appear to use hit and run tactics, weakening it further. By the time he finally called on Shifter, Akuma was so worn down by the fiery strings that he called it a match," Shino informed him.

"An impressive strategy. The Hokage showed us a video of your battle. Young Naruto's cheering seems to be a force of nature with the way it kept the Machop and Vulpix going."

Shino nodded in agreement.

"Naruto seems to be the person who, despite all odds, will succeed in impossible tasks...and even when it's proven that it can't be done will get back up and try again until he's forced to stop," said Shino.

"Indeed. We shall have to watch his growth..."

* * *

Naruto met up with his regular team and they compared their catches.

Naruto had the most impressive, since he captured the female Absol. Hinata had added two more to her team. A Wurmple and a Chikorita. Sasuke had captured a Houndour and a Ghastly which he found scared both of his teammates witless. Needless to say he was going to have a lot of fun with that.

"I don't believe it. Not only did you get the highest score in the written, but you also beat the Hokage and earned the coveted Leaf Badge... How the hell did you manage it?" demanded Sasuke.

While the fact Naruto had captured the Absol was annoying, it wasn't nearly as bad as the fact he had beaten the Hokage. Hell, the only reason he wasn't ticked about being outscored by Naruto is because the blond had Shifter for years and had taken immaculate care of him! He had to have learned _something_ during that time!

"It's all because Shino was willing to trust me while I had Kurama out. I had him lace the area around us with String Shot, then had Kurama set it ablaze! Lee had his Machop do hit and run attacks the entire time. You should watch out for him, his Machop is really fast!"

Sasuke nodded. While the use of String Shot was a bit unconventional, he knew better than most that Bug-element attacks were very easy to set ablaze. Fire-types had a massive elemental advantage over bugs.

"Still, how the hell did you entrap a Primeape like Akuma?"

"The Hokage was too busy laughing at the fact Akuma had his ass on fire to help much," shrugged Naruto.

Sasuke and Hinata sweatdropped. Akuma was well-known for being a pain in the ass to deal with, and the Hokage was too busy to train with it. He only captured the Primeape so he could have a decent excuse to escape his office during the Ranking exams.

While they were chatting, Haku came up behind them with an odd egg in his hands.

"Yo, Ice-boy! What's with the egg?" asked Naruto.

"Since I am a new Breeder, I get an egg to test my skills with. I get to keep the Pokémon inside, but I have to start from scratch. Koori is currently in the Ice Zone in the training grounds until I can join the breeders properly."

"Well good luck! If anyone can handle a new Pokémon, it's you!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Haku grinned, and waved goodbye.

"He seems to be enjoying himself. And I know Zabuza's having fun 'cause I occasionally hear him scream in the Interrogation room with Anko around," said Naruto.

His teammates looked at him and then at each other as if to say '_Is he really this dense or is he pulling one on us?'._ It was well-known by now that Zabuza had a fear of snakes for some reason, and Anko loved to hear people scream.

It was a miracle she hadn't jumped him yet...though Haku was beyond amused at his stalker.

(Tenten)

* * *

A week had passed, and Naruto met up with Lee and Shino again. Even though the battle stages were all one-on-one, they were required to appear as a team.

Shino looked extra pleased today.

"Hey Shino, why are you so happy?"

"Thanks to our performance against the Hokage, my clan allowed me into the special area of our compound. I finally have a Combee...and it seems some of your absurd luck has rubbed off on me because I have also captured a Scyther."

"Wow! Isn't that like one of the strongest Pokémon in your compound?" said Naruto.

"Yes...though I am curious how you knew that."

"I think you mentioned it once in class as an example of bug types," said Naruto.

Shino's eyebrow went up. He remembered that? He had given that example in his second year at the Academy.

"Gai-sensei took me to the Fighting grounds, so now I have a youthful Tyrogue!" said Lee grinning.

"If there was ever a Pokémon version of you, that would be it," said Naruto sagely. Shino nodded.

Naruto snapped his fingers, remembering something important!

"Well, since you guys let me in on your new Pokémon, I'll show you mine!"

"Naruto, we know you captured Absol and you aren't the kind to show new Pokémon without training it first," said Shino.

"Nah, I still have Kiseki. Come on out, Advil!"

Instead of the yellow duck that they had seen a thousand times before, there was now a blue kappa-like Pokémon with a red jewel and slightly pointed bill.

"Advil evolved yesterday during training. He doesn't need the Confusion Relief anymore!"

Naruto was the only trainer to overcome Psyduck's natural confusion ailment which hindered it's psychic ability through herbal remedies. As a result, Advil was one of the most well-trained Psyduck...well, Golduck now, in the entire village.

It didn't hurt that Naruto had a habit of finding Everstones, the naturally occurring rocks that kept evolution from occurring, all around the place. It was how he earned most of his money, by collecting them and selling them to Pokémon stores.

Most of the Evolutionary Rocks came from Iwa. It was rare to find one outside of the Land of Earth.

Well, except Fire Stone, which was a staple of Konoha's export business. All the major Villages exported their own rocks. Mizu had Water stones, Kumo had Lightning Stones, Suna had Dawn Stones, but Iwa exported the highest number of Dusk, Ever and other stones.

"I'm glad to see the news you're receiving the Leaf Stone didn't go to your head Naruto," said a voice from behind.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Hello Naruto...Advil," said Iruka, trying not to laugh. Really, only Naruto would come up with a name like Advil for a Psyduck. _(A/N Or someone who uses Advil and Tylenol enough to get it in bulk...damn headaches...)_

"Hello, Iruka-sensei," said Shino neutrally.

"Hello Shino. I take it your clan was pleased with the fact you earned a Leaf Badge?"

"Indeed. My father was so impressed he allowed me into the special areas for an hour. I now have a Pokémon that will make my hive more efficient," said Shino.

"Well congratulations. Naruto's dumb luck and that the odd Pick Up ability he seems to have gotten from Shifter had to rub off on someone eventually."

"...Naruto knows Pick Up?" asked Shino.

"That is the only explanation for how he keeps finding Ever Stones and Fire Stones while walking..." said Iruka cryptically.

Shino and Lee gave Naruto a look.

"What? Is it _my_ fault people keep dropping those damn things?" he said defensively.

"Naruto...people don't drop Fire Stones and Ever Stones that frequently. If anything they use them if they get a chance," said Iruka carefully.

"If he keeps finding Fire Stones, then why is Kurama still a Vulpix?" asked Kiba, who overheard the comment.

"Didn't want to evolve him before he hits level 25, and he only recently hit level 20," said Naruto simply. Iruka patted his head for smart thinking.

"Well, have fun out there, and remember, it's not all about the wins. If your team can't handle an opponent, then forfeiting is always an option."


	9. Chapter 9

Anko jumped up onto a platform that was built for the announcer. Since the Chunin exam wasn't going to start until after the Ranking Exams were over with, she had asked to be the announcer for the Battle Exam.

"HELLO KONOHA! Welcome to the Bi Annual Ranking Exam Battle Test! Each shinobi will battle it out against each other in an attempt to earn the coveted Fire medal! Each Trainer has three shots to earn the right to challenge a jounin! Just because you lost once doesn't mean you're out of the game! Remember folks, if you can't make it past the second round you won't get one... Unless your battle was really, really impressive!" said Anko cheerfully. Her Dragonair was around her body like a snake.

Behind her was a screen that appeared with the trainers in a tournament style layout.

"Each trainer or ranger has proven themselves worthy of the tournament that consists of the Battle Exam! Who will win the trophy and earn the Fire Medal? Who will be sent with their tails between their legs? Let's find out! For our first matches we have Hyuga Hinata VS Temari! Tenten VS Uzumaki Naruto! Gaara VS Rock Lee! Inuzuka Kiba VS Hyuga Neji! Kankuro VS Aburame Shino! Akimichi Chouji VS Nara Shikamaru! And that's just the warm up folks! Our second matches should be just as exciting! Sadly there were too many teams to fight at once, so we had to split the match ups in half. Once these kiddies are done we'll have a break and bring out the next set of matches!"

One by one the kids came out. Each set had three Pokémon from their teams ready to fight. If they didn't have three, well, that was their problem. The entire forest area was created mostly so that the genin could add to their teams.

* * *

Naruto waited for Tenten to bring out her Pokémon, and she grinned at his friendliness. All around them genin were setting out their Pokémon to battle like the trainers of old. Gaara had out his Larvitar, Hinata had Riolu, Shino had his new Scyther, Lee had his Machop. Neji brought out his Sneasel, Temari had a Dunsparce, Kankuro had a Shuppet, Kiba had his Growlithe, Chouji had a Graveler and Shikamaru had his Kadabra ready to fight.

"Go Skorupi!" yelled Tenten grinning.

Naruto blinked. From what he knew of Tenten, she should be partial to steel types. That was what he assumed thanks to what Lee said.

"A bug-type, really?"

"No one ever expects the bug," said Tenten grinning.

"Well in that case... Go get 'em Advil!" yelled Naruto.

"GOLDUCK!"

"Advil, seriously?" said Tenten.

"Psyduck always has a headache. So I call him Advil because that gets rid of them."

"Cute. But your little Kappa friend isn't going to handle a hit from my Scorpio!"

"...And you call me cliché?"

"Bite me Fox Boy! Scorpio, Poison Sting!"

"Skorupi!"cried the poisonous Pokémon, shooting darts of poison at Advil.

"Advil, Psychic!"

The duck's eyes glowed a bright blue, and the darts stopped where they were.

"Now, use Hydro Pump!"

"Gold...!"

A heavy stream of water came barreling down on Scorpio. The scorpion Pokémon narrowly avoided the blast.

"Cross Poison!"

"Reflect!"

Advil cried out when he got hit with the poison. All around them were the cries of the stadium, the sound of battle. But none of that mattered to him. All he could see was his opponent in the here and now.

"Advil, Ice Beam!"

"WHAT?!" said Tenten in shock.

"GOLDUCK!"

The blast of ice was even more impressive than the Hydro Pump. Scorpio was frozen in a single hit.

"And it looks like we have the first knock out! Naruto Uzumaki has frozen his opponent solid! As any trainer knows, frozen Pokémon are automatically considered out unless you have an Ice Heal! Will Trainer Tenten heal her Pokémon or will she switch out?"

"Scorpio, return! Go, Naginata!"

"SKARMORY!" cried the steel bird Pokémon.

"And it looks like Tenten had opted to switch out her Pokémon!" said Anko cheerfully. She was having a ball.

Suddenly her attention was on the red-head.

"Ooooh! And it looks like we have another knock out! And...What's this? Looks like Red's Pokémon is evolving!" said Anko.

"PUPITAR!" cried Chomper. Now he was roughly Gaara's size.

All around them, the stadium was roaring in approval. Most civilians didn't see a Pokémon evolve in public.

"GO SHIFTER!" cried Naruto. Advil returned to his Seal Ball as Shifter appeared on the battlefield.

"And it looks like Naruto had called out his strongest Pokémon! For those not around here, Shifter is a rather unusual Eevee! But why should I explain when you can find out for yourselves?" said Anko happily.

"Shifter, use Flash to blind her Skarmory!" said Naruto.

Shifter immediately switched to his preferred form.

"Espeon!"

A blinding flash of light hit the steel bird. It cried out in surprise as it blinked rapidly.

"What the...! Naginata, Steel Wing!"

"SKAR!"

Naginata's wings turned white, and it went for the kill. Shifter narrowly avoided the attack.

"Shifter, Ice Beam!"

"Glaceon!"

Shifter tried to hit Naginata, but missed.

"Shifter, Sunny Day! Blind him again!"

"Espeon!"

Suddenly the sun began to shine brightly. it was like high noon, even though it was nearly ten in the morning.

"Now, Solarbeam!"

"Leafeon!"

The blast from the solarbeam hit Naginata dead on. The Skarmory faltered, but kept on flying.

"And there we have it folks! Naruto's partner Shifter! Who knows how many Eeveelutions he can turn into? One thing we do know is that you should never underestimate this wily canine!" said Anko grinning.

The crowd was going wild with Shifter's transformations. Anko's attention was suddenly on Kankuro.

"And we have another knock out~!"

"Shifter, Leech Seed!"

Shifter spat out seeds all over Naginata. The vines that grew without pause entangled the Pokémon, and caused it to crash hard. It let out a weak cry before it lay down unconscious.

Tenten growled.

"Naginata, return!"

"Tenten has only one Pokémon available to her folks! What will she unleash now?" said Anko.

Tenten gave Naruto a sour look. She had underestimated him, that much was obvious. And it was clear that he focused just as much attention on his Pokémon team as he did on his own training, something that wasn't true for her. There was only one Pokémon left on her team.

"Go get 'em Tanto!" said Tenten.

"Pikachu!"

Anko whistled impressed.

"Here's a Pokémon we haven't seen in a while folks! Most people underestimate the common Pikachu, but you shouldn't judge a mouse by its cry! A gathering of these little rodents can cause a thunderstorm!"

"Tanto, Iron Tail!"

"PIKA~!"

"Shifter, Psychic!" cried Naruto in a panic.

"ESPEON!"

Tanto avoided the attack, and landed a solid hit on Shifter.

"And we finally see a proper hit on this sneaky Pokémon!"

"Vee!"

"Shifter, hang in there! We've had worse hits and you know it!"

"Vee!" said Shifter, standing straight and shaking off the hit.

"Shifter, use Night Slash!"

"Breon!"

Shifter tried to land a hit on the Pikachu, but it missed entirely. Naruto was unfazed.

"Shifter, Night Tackle!"

"Umbreon!"

Shifter let out a blast of dark energy, which coated him as he charged at the Pikachu.

"Tanto, Volt Tackle!"

A clash of lightning yellow and midnight black collided. It was like the Yellow Flash was crashing into the infamous Black Lightning technique. The crowd was going nuts.

When the smoke cleared, Shifter was in his Eevee form, shaking his head trying to clear his thoughts since he had taken a good knock to the head. Tanto, Tenten's brave Pikachu, was shaking from the impact.

"Are we going to see a knock out, or will these brave Pokémon continue?" asked Anko. Everyone had been watching Naruto's match more than the rest. Mostly because it was so interesting, with the way Shifter kept switching his forms.

Tanto made a cry, and shook himself. He quit shaking and prepared for Tenten's next command.

"Tanto, you alright?" asked Tenten.

"Pika!"

"Shifter, you ready for the next one?" asked Naruto.

"VEE!"

"Tanto, Thunder!"

"Shifter, use Aurora Beam!"

Lightning met a beam of rainbow-colored ice in a clash of power. The two attacks were so strong that it literally started snowing briefly in the stadium, and the crowd loved it.

Naruto was grinning, as this was the first time they had ever fought for real. Shifter kept darting in and out of the Pikachu's lightning, weaving around like it was going out of style. Shifter had more stamina than most Pokémon, barring those who trained with Gai. His HP was through the roof, and years of working with Naruto had his attacks fine tuned to the point where he operated on the bare minimum of his energy.

Where Naruto lacked in intelligence, Shifter made up for in spades. The craftiness of his best friend and partner was beyond what most Eevee could even dream of.

If given a chance, Shifter could easily become a Pokémon of legends. He was already well-known in the Eevee community.

Shifter skidded to a stop next to Naruto.

"Shifter, buddy, I think we should go all out on Tenten. Nothing too damaging, because we don't want to hurt her or Tanto, but we want to be flashy as hell," said Naruto. The -currently- Espeon looked at his partner. He knew Naruto was right.

This wasn't about winning or losing. Much like the final round of the Chunin exams, this was about flash and dazzle. This was about putting on a show for the civilians that would _make_ them remember their names for a long time after it was all said and done.

This was about being the bigger glory hound.

"_What do you have in mind?"_

Naruto grinned.

"Let's put on a show!"

Suddenly the tone changed, and Tanto quickly ate a berry to regain his health. Tenten used a few potions and ethers to restore his stats.

This was an all or nothing round. If Naruto took out Tanto, she was done. He still had one Pokémon left and he had taken out two of hers already.

"Ready Shifter? Blizzard then Icy Wind!"

"Glaceon!"

The temperature of Hi no Kuni was as close to tropical as you could get without being overwhelmed by it. Even the nights were rather mild, particularly in Konoha.

All that changed in a heartbeat when the Blizzard attack took effect. The temperature dropped nearly below zero in an instant, as the Icy Wind blew it around in dazzling swirls of ice and snow. Shifter angled his Icy Wind in a way that it became a tornado of ice, snow and sleet. Tanto tried to stand his ground, but he was quickly swept up in the whirlwind of cold air.

"Tanto!" cried Tenten. She knew he wouldn't be able to land easily when he was so cold.

"SHIFTER PSYCHIC!" yelled Naruto. He didn't want the tiny mouse to be hurt after all.

Shifter switched from Glaceon to Espeon so fast it would give a Ditto whiplash. His entire body glowed as he caught the semi-frozen Pikachu.

"Chu..." said Tanto in pain.

"Tanto!" cried Tenten. Naruto got there first, digging something out of his side bag. He quickly sprayed it on the tiny mouse.

"Pika?" said Tanto. He blinked and shook off the ice. He quickly bound up to Tenten.

"Thank kami you're alright!" said Tenten.

"Ehehehe... Sorry for going overboard Tenten-san!" said Naruto.

"Thanks for catching and healing him, Naruto-san," said Tenten.

It was then that they bothered to notice the roar of the crowd. They were so caught up in the battle they had forgotten this was a live event.

"Talk about a hell of a way to wrap up a battle! Did that make your blood boil like it did mine folks! Winner of the first preliminary matches are Chouji Akimichi! Gaara of the Desert! Temari of the Desert! Shino Aburame! Kiba Inuzuka! ANNND Naruto Uzumaki! Let's give them a round of applause!" said Anko cheerfully.

The crowd, who had more or less kept their eyes on Naruto except for a few rare occasions, went absolutely wild giving the genin a standing ovation for the battles. For most civilians, the fight between Naruto and Tenten was as close as they would ever get to the real thing between shinobi.

* * *

Tenten was relieved that all her Pokémon were quickly given a clean bill of health from the breeders. Naruto's quick healing of Tanto had saved him from a nasty frostbite burn and a fall.

"Hey Naruto-san, how does Shifter change his shape like that? I thought evolution was permanent?"

"When I first found him, I learned that he had been experimented soon after he was hatched. I don't know what they did to him or why, but the end result is that he can take almost any form of the Evolutionary line of his kind except for Fire, Water and Lightning. He can switch between any of the others like it's nothing but those three are outside his reach. It doesn't really bother me because I have others to pick up the slack."

"How many can he change in to?"

"Five. Dark, Ground, Psychic, Ice and Grass."

"Five?"

"Six if you count his Normal form."

Tenten gave him an odd look.

"How would you like to add number seven?"

* * *

Tenten went to a computer and switched out Scorpio with another Pokémon Naruto had never seen before. It was clearly a Steel type, and it almost looked like an Eevee. But he had never heard of it before.

"Meet Adamanteon. I think he's an Eeveelution but we were never able to confirm it."

(I'm going to call Eevee's Steel evolution Adamanteon after the legendary material Adamantite. It's on the same class as Mithril.)

Shifter went nose to nose with the odd Pokémon. It was different shades of gray and had a spike ball for a tail. It almost looked like a robot with its red eyes and little horn on the end of its nose. It had several stripes along its body like armor plating.

A jolt went between Shifter and the odd Pokémon, and the Eevee blinked. He tried to turn into his Steel form and immediately shifted into an almost copy of the one before him. The new Pokémon barked in surprise but recovered easily.

"Well that confirms it. Adamanteon is an Eeveelution."

"You sure?"

"Shifter can only take the forms of one of the evolutionary paths, and the only way to access the others is by coming into direct contact with another element. So far he's only gained his Ground thanks to a Seteon that Gaara had in his gourd."

"Well at least I finally know what the heck she is. Isn't that great Addy?" asked Tenten.

"Ada!" the Eeveelution barked.

Addy jumped into Tenten's arms, enjoying the attention she was giving her. Tenten rarely brought her out of the training areas.

Two hours later the second preliminary matches were over. Naruto was practically bouncing in his seat for his next match.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Here are the Pokémon on Naruto's team as per your requests!**_

**Shifter**

**Species: Male Eevee**

**Type: *Normal by default, but it changes when he does***

**Level: 33**

**Moves: (Due to genetic tampering and the odd exercises his partner concocts, his moves aren't easy to guess ahead of time. As such this spot is left blank.)**

**Ability: Whatever suits the situation at the time.**

**Ibuprofen (Advil)**

**Species: Male Golduck**

**Type: Water/Psychic**

**Level: 29**

**Moves: Psychic, Psybeam, Confusion, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Bubblebeam, Rain Dance, Double Team, Water Gun, Bubble, Reflect**

**Ability: Swift Swim**

**Kurama**

**Species: Male Vulpix**

**Type: Fire**

**Level: 23**

**Moves: Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Ember, Bite, Double Team, Tackle, Smokescreen, Sunny Day, Swift, Flame Wheel, Flame Tackle**

**Ability: Pick Up**

**Kiseki**

**Species: Female Absol**

**Level: 30**

**Moves: (Due to the fact she so new, Naruto has no idea about her moves just yet.)**

**Ability: (He has yet to learn her ability)**

_As for why there aren't any rare or legendary Pokémon in any of the chapters, that's because it's still rather early. Naruto will eventually encounter a Suicune, Lugia, and Celebi, I can guarantee that much!_

_Now, on to the story!_

Naruto won his next two matches, though on the third one he actually had to call on all three of the Pokémon he was allowed to use. Because this was a ranking exam, he wasn't allowed to evolve Kurama until after the battles were over even though the Vulpix had recently hit level 27.

His only partner from the egg had been awaiting the evolution as much as Naruto, though everyone he mentioned this to agreed that rushing things was a Very. Bad. Idea.

Naruto had read a story of how a Pikachu defeated it's evolved and higher leveled form simply because it used speed against the Raichu. So he put Kurama through the same training Shifter went all those years ago.

Kurama was roughly at the same level Shifter was at that point in time, but he would never be able to match Naruto's first Pokémon partner.

It was a tired team who finally earned the right to challenge a Jounin. If he beat his final opponent, he would earn the Fire Medal easily. He already qualified for the generic one.

His opponent...was Kakashi Hatake. The laziest man Naruto had ever met outside the Nara clan.

Naruto brought out Kurama first. His Vulpix needed more EXP to level up to 30. Kakashi did his usual eye-smile and brought out a Mightyena.

In the end Naruto recalled Kurama before Kakashi hurt him too badly (he was already feeling the effects of two straight battles in a row) and sent out Advil.

Kakashi's first Pokémon was beaten easily, his second, not so much.

It had surprised Naruto to learn that Kakashi had a Jolteon on his team. Even more so when he saw the absurd speed the thing had.

He later learned that it had been given to him by his sensei, and Kakashi had evolved it in honor of the man. Seeing a Pokémon version of the Yellow Flash was something Naruto rather enjoyed.

Watching what happened when he set Shifter on the Jolteon, however, not so much.

The Jolteon, already tired from Advil's Ice Beam, was in a foul mood. It snarled at Shifter like it wanted to shoot a Spike Cannon at him. Naruto didn't like the look at all.

The Jolteon barely listened to Kakashi's commands, often launching attacks without his order. He was almost as bad as Akuma, only this time his opponent actually _cared_ if his partner got set on fire.

Suddenly Shifter went into his new Steel form (which he had yet to use) and on Naruto's command launched an Iron Tail at the Jolteon.

The yellow and white Pokémon got up, but Naruto gulped when he saw the look in his eyes. He had gone from angry to downright _pissed_. Kakashi actually looked worried about it.

Shifter, on the other hand, looked irritated. This was not how an Eevee was supposed to behave!

So he did something that had Naruto wondering why he didn't think of himself. He bit the Jolteon rather hard on the leg and broke a bone. He didn't notice the spark that went between him and the Electric type. The same spark that went between him and any Eeveelution he encountered for the first time.

Kakashi immediately withdrew his Jolteon (who he named Minato after his teacher) and threw out his last one.

A Houndoom named Jigoku.

Naruto had made a token effort at bringing down Jigoku's HP before he forfeited. He could see easily that Shifter wasn't able to take down the Fire/Dark type, and he didn't see any reason to risk Shifter's health on a mere ranking exam. He would have other chances to get the Fire Medal.

Kakashi applauded his common sense. So did the Hokage and most of the shinobi forces who actually saw their Pokémon as more than pets.

Anko waited in the lounge, taking a deep drink of the ice cold water to soothe her throat. Being the announcer for the final ranking exam was fun, but hell on the throat. It was why Hayate was never allowed to do it, since his lungs were so bad. Finally the Hokage came in with the list of people to earn a Fire Medal, whether it was the standard or the 'True' one.

She enjoyed her ten minute break before grabbing the mike, picked up Seiryuu (her Dragonair. She named it after the God of the East.) and walked out to the stage which was set high enough to avoid getting hit by attacks, and that was before the barrier took effect.

(They had a special barrier to protect the announcer, since sometimes trainers and rangers thought it amusing to aim a few when the announcers annoyed them with sarcastic comments. Sarutobi sometimes said they had to develop it for people like Anko in mind.)

"Sorry for the delay folks! However here are the results! Those who have earned the coveted True Fire Medal are... Gaara no Subaku! Temari no Subaku! Hinata Hyuuga! And... Naruto Uzumaki! The names of those who have earned a standard Fire Medal are...Shino Aburame! Tenten (name cut out by mike)! Rock Lee! And Chouji Akimichi! To all the others, better luck next year!"

The first thing Naruto did once the announcement was made was take all his Pokémon to the Breeders for an all-out physical exam. Followed by a day off just relaxing. Naruto _did_ occasionally pamper his team.

Naruto stared at the man in the hot spring in shock. What the hell did he think he was doing, peeping on the girls like that?! He knew for a fact Kurenai-sensei was on the other side at that moment!

Naruto growled, then leaned down to Shifter.

"Shifter, I want you to turn into your Steel form, sneak up on that guy and bite him as hard as you can in the ass. See if you can do it hard enough to alert the other side," whispered Naruto.

"Vee..." growled Shifter. He liked Kurenai as much as Naruto did.

"!" screamed the pervert, who screamed so loudly that not only did it alert the girls on the other side of the fence, it got the ANBU's attention pretty quick too.

The white haired pervert with the toad was surrounded by ANBU in seconds, and the girls were all grabbing kunai.

One of the ANBU realized what happened, and hid a snicker. Genma may love Jiraiya's work, but even he wasn't stupid enough to piss of Naruto so much that he had his Eevee bite him.

"Jiraiya... Why am I not surprised?" growled Kurenai. She noted it was Naruto who alerted them and nodded at the boy who beamed at her.

"Come on Shifter, let's go swim while these lovely women strangle a pervert!" said Naruto cheerfully.

"Vee!" barked Shifter pleased.

The screams of the pervert was music to Naruto's ears.

Jiraiya was entirely unamused with Naruto when he left the hospital. He was going to be in Konoha for the Chunin exams, and then he was gone. He had actually expected the boy to be there and not take the rankings.

Now Naruto was guaranteed a Chunin Vest once the second half the Chunin exams were over with.

Still, it was fun seeing the look on the kid's face when he had a toad drop on his head. A toad that was easily the size of the average Arcanine. And who reaked to high heaven. At least up until the point that the kid had his bizarre Eevee bite him in the ass again.

"!"

This time the ANBU didn't respond. Jiraiya had chosen to approach the kid on his own free will. If he decided to do something that antagonized the kid's Eevee, then it was his own damn fault.

"Seriously kid, stop setting that freaky Pokémon of yours on me," said Jiraiya, nursing his poor, abused bottom.

"Shifter is not freaky! Keep calling him that and I have him hold you in the air while I tie you to a post!" growled Naruto.

"Eevee can't switch between their evolutionary forms. It's a known fact," he said calmly.

Naruto was ready to shove a kunai where the sun didn't shine.

Instead he had a better idea.

"Call him freaky again and I'll brand you a pedophile," he growled.

"What?!"

"Don't think I won't. NO one insults Shifter or any of my team and lives to get away with it!"

"Get used to it kid. Someone was bound to comment on it eventually. I'm surprised no one has yet," said Jiraiya flatly.

"...Have you even bothered to ask around before you decided to talk to me? Everyone knows why Shifter can change between forms. It's not that big a secret," said Naruto in surprise.

"What?"

"Oi, Old man Teuchi! This dingbat's paying!" yelled Naruto, who vanished. Jiraiya hadn't bothered to count while they were talking (he was too busy trying to ignore the pain he now felt in his ass) but now he did. And he paled.

Naruto and his Pokémon had consumed fifty bowls of the most expensive ramen the stand had to offer. And there was that look in the chef's eye that told him he wasn't going to get out of paying...

Jiraiya's next stop before he went to pester the blond again was his old teacher.

"Shifter? You were dumb enough to insult Shifter to his face?!" said Sarutobi in disbelief.

"I commented on how bizarre that ability was and he threatened to get me branded as a pedophile."

"I don't blame him! Shifter was, as far as we can tell from Hana's extensive tests, experimented on almost immediately out of the egg to change form. I suspect Danzo had a hand in it but never pushed it since no one came to reclaim the Eevee and Naruto didn't want his partner to be hurt any more. It has taken years for Naruto to get Shifter to the point where he can switch without warning, and everyone knows he picked the Eevee off the streets."

"You mean to tell me that an Eevee who can change forms at will is common knowledge?"

"It has been for nearly three years. And no, as far as we can tell it won't be given to his children. When Shifter started getting frisky we let him out with the other Eevee but none of the eggs showed the same trick. He's one of a kind."

Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You mean to tell me my godson found a shiny Eevee and no one thought to tell me?"

Sarutobi laughed, hard.

"You think he's a rare shiny type? Everything about his powers, his attacks, even his speed was all earned the hard way. Shifter and Naruto paid for their power in blood and hard work."

"Yeah, well that bite of that damn Eevee sure as hell didn't feel like an Eevee. It felt more like a damn Feraligatr!" growled Jiraiya.

"That's because Shifter loses teeth every month. He tends to gnaw on toys a lot, and at the moment Naruto has several rock toys for him to chew on. His teeth are very sharp and very strong for an Eevee."

_Meanwhile, with Naruto..._

"Found it! Finally!" said Naruto. In his hands were a few books on the world before the Cataclysm. (This is what the shinobi called the series of earthquakes that resulted in the landmass changing and the birth of the Elemental Countries.)

"Five thousand ryo for the set," said the clerk bored.

Naruto grabbed several books and brought them to the counter. They were all about Pokémon. Thanks to the fact he had a much, much higher rank than he had before, he only had to pay a fraction of the cost. This was one of the few stores that didn't overcharge him.

Naruto quickly sealed them in a scroll and put it in his kunai pouch. Well, all but one which described the world before the Cataclysm. Kurenai's talk about the world before had gotten him very interested.

And Iruka _never_ covered the days before the Cataclysm. If he had, Naruto might have actually paid attention to his history class.

"_In the days of old, before the Elemental countries existed, there were many trainers and Pokémon. It is still unknown how or why, but one day a series of massive earthquakes struck the lands, causing many lands to be reshaped. Islands vanished and new ones appeared (For examples see the Land of Waves in Chapter 5), cities were torn asunder and many people died._

_The most astonishing thing was that the Pokémon vanished for ten years, causing many of the humans left behind to learn new skills in order to survive a changing world. This lead to the first appearance of the Shinobi sect and the creation of many villages such as the first Uzushiogakure, or the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. (For information on Village in the Whirlpools, see chapter 10 about the Hidden Villages)."_

Naruto was entranced by the story of how the shinobi first came into being. He spent hours simply reading how the first Uzukage made a bargain with one of the few Pokémon to remain in the world, the Legendary Lugia.

It wasn't until the sun set that he went home.

And it was there he dreamed of a great Pokémon of silver and blue with a cry that sounded so familiar.

A month had passed for the teams, and Naruto was a bit of a celebrity among the trainers.

He had earned more badges than any other genin on one go, some of them so hard to get that most ANBU didn't have them! The end result was that Naruto was getting a lot more respect than he was used to.

Not that he cared, because he finally found one of the places he had been looking for!

A place that sold custom seal balls and a book on how to make your own. Naruto bought a ton of orange, blue, and fire red seal covers and the book. Thanks to his higher rank, the amount of ryo he had to shell out for the covers was roughly the same amount as a D rank mission pay.

He was a very happy boy for the rest of the day.


	11. Chapter 11

Jiraiya was still attempting to apologize to the boy when he saw him. Naruto was still pissed at how he treated Shifter.

Finally Jiraiya tried his biggest bargaining chip he was willing to give out. The ability to summon Toads.

Naruto looked at him and said "Are we talking actual toads or something like a Politoad?"

"Real toads, not Pokémon. There aren't any summoning scrolls for Pokémon anyway," said Jiraiya annoyed. Why summon when you can capture them?

"Let's see them then."

"Summoning Jutsu: Toad!"

"**Yo,"** said a small orange toad with a vest.

"This is what you're so eager to get me to sign?" said Naruto.

"**Oi! What's so bad about toads?"** asked the orange toad.

"Nothing, it's just that..."

"**Grr...Just because we're not as cool as a Pokémon doesn't mean we can't kick your ass!"**

Naruto grinned.

"You're actually kinda cool! Still, why should I be interest in signing a toad contract?"

It took a moment for Gamakichi (the toad) to realize this kid was looking at Jiraiya. Clearly this kid knew to wring the Sage for all he was worth.

"Grr. How about this kid... I'll let you sign the contract and teach you an A rank jutsu?" he asked, his eyebrow twitching.

This was a hell of a lot of effort just to get the kid to learn his heritage. And he was really starting to wonder if the kid knew he was his godfather...

"Let's see the jutsu first."

Jiraiya summoned an orb the size of a seal ball and destroyed a nearby tree.

"Sold!" grinned Naruto.

Let it never be said Naruto didn't know how to trick a Sage...

* * *

Gamabunta was laughing when his son told him about the new summoner. Naruto clearly took after his father if he was able to trick Jiraiya like that. Still, he wanted to meet this kid himself. And possibly pass on something his father had left the blond that Jiraiya didn't know about.

His notes on the Hiraishin...the technique that made Minato the Yellow Flash and the Fourth. Jiraiya only had the incomplete version...Minato had it on him when he went to face the Kyuubi and asked that Gamabunta pass it on to his son when he was ready.

"Dammit all to hell! I will get this right if it kills me!" snarled Naruto.

Jiraiya had shown him something called the Rasengan. He had gotten the first stage easily enough thanks to help from Shifter, but the second stage wasn't as easily cracked. Finally he decided that a break was in order.

He went off to the Ramen stand...only to find it too full. He sighed.

"This stinks! Ichiraku's is booked and hardly any of the stores would let me in without overcharging me!"

Chouji, who had been passing by overheard that comment. He was on his way to the BBQ restaurant he frequented and offered to let Naruto come with him in exchange for half the tab.

Considering Naruto had enough cash for an all-you-can-eat at his favorite ramen stand (which amounted to a mid C rank pay) he grinned and agreed to it.

The battle between the Akimichi and Uzumaki was both entertaining and funny.

Chouji and Naruto fought over the meat and vegatables, both grinning like mad. The other patrons watched the floor show with amusement, listening to the two argue over the food. Beside them were their partners, all sweatdropping.

Fortunately Naruto had paid for the Pokémon-only specials which meant neither boy went near it.

Chouji's Aron was eating the metal specials while Shifter debated Steel-type moves with it.

* * *

Naruto got the second half down two weeks before the third half to the Chunin Exam was supposed to happen. Because he recently got his new chunin vest, Naruto didn't have to participate.

Not that he could have considering the exam started roughly five days after the written test for the ranking exam.

Jiraiya had grinned and told him to combine the first two in order to finish the third stage.

It wouldn't be until a week before the third exam that he actually managed it...after he went to Anko for damage to his hand. She had been annoyed when she saw what he did to his hand.

She had forbidden him from doing more than reading for three days before he was allowed to continue his training. So he spent that time reading more on the history before the Cataclysm.

"_Before the Cataclysm, there were many technologies which have since been lost. One of which is a device that healed Pokémon while they were still inside the seal ball, which during that time were called Pokéballs._

_The manufacturing process for these Pokéballs are another key device which has been lost to the ages. It was the Uzukage of the time who came up with the use of seals to carry and transport Pokémon twenty years after the Cataclysm._

_Why they vanished for two decades is a mystery which has baffled researchers since their return. One thing is certain however... Had the Pokémon not vanished, the development and discovery of chakra and how to use it would never have been found._

_For more information on the first use of chakra, see chapter 5."_

Jiraiya was beyond surprised to find the boy actually reading a history book. His grades in that subject were phenomenally bad after all.(He wasn't nearly as surprised as Iruka was, consider Naruto though History was so boring that it put him to sleep. Needless to say he had Kurenai check for genjutsu an hour after seeing what his favorite student was reading.)

It wasn't until Naruto went to get a book on the history of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools that he asked something that put the Hokage in a bit of a bind.

It hadn't been until he picked up the history of Whirlpool that he learned the ruling family had been named _Uzumaki. _And that they had a history of sending people to the Leaf.

And since his last name was Uzumaki...

You can see why the Hokage had a bit of trouble. On one hand, the boy was ready to learn about his parents, on another, the village still had some foreign ninja running around.

So he compromised. He promised to tell the boy about his mother now, and tell him about his father after the exams were all over. Naruto was positively giddy to learn about his mother. He couldn't wait to hear about his dad.

* * *

"What's got you in such a good mood Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata. She was currently in a good mood herself since her performance at the Ranking Exams got her father off her back for the next month.

"The Old man finally said he'd tell me about my parents. He said my Mom's name was Kushina and that she came from the Land of Whirlpools!" said Naruto happily.

Sasuke looked up from the book on dragon Pokémon care when he heard the name.

"Kushina? As in Kushina Uzumaki? I know of her...she was my mother's genin teammate. She used to be called the Hot Blooded Habenaro. I think I still have my mom's old genin picture somewhere around the house," said Sasuke.

"Cool!"

"My mother used to talk about her all the time. She said that Kushina never took crap from anyone and her Ninetails was the strongest in the village. Before that night, she once mentioned it was around the village sometimes. Something about the Pokémon being attracted to a certain KI that Kushina had..." said Sasuke.

* * *

The next day Sasuke showed up with a picture. In it was a female Uchiha, a boy from the Inuzuka clan, and a tomboy girl with bright red hair with green hair clips.

Sasuke pointed to the boy first.

"Kuro Inuzuka. This is my mom and this...is Kushina."

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. He definitely took after his mother a lot, because he had her cheeks and nose. From the look of the photo, it was clear he also took after her in personality.

Now that he had a face to go with the name, Naruto showed them his new history books. Sasuke made the appropriate comment about Naruto not looking like a fan of history until he learned they were about the world _before_ the Cataclysm.

Even Sasuke could see why Naruto was interested. Unlike the history of the Shinobi Nations, which was so boring that it had once put _him_ to sleep, the world before was full of Pokémon and people coexisting. And if there was one thing that was sure to keep Naruto's interest it was to learn about Pokémon.

"Wow...so your clan was the one to come up with seals to replace Pokéballs?" asked Sasuke in surprise.

Unlike before, when someone wanted to write a history book they had to double and triple check their facts. Still, some of the facts could be mistaken since it had been so long ago and quite a bit of it was easily speculation.

"I wonder what it would be like in the past?" asked Hinata.

"Dunno. Be a lot different from it is now. I mean back then shinobi weren't really around as much as they are now. And Pokémon were available to everyone," said Naruto.

"Yeah, but imagine how much harder it was to live without them for twenty years. I mean those people were so dependent on Pokémon that it forced them to turn to chakra," said Sasuke.

"So you guys going to the Third Stage?" asked Naruto.

"Nah. The entire survival exercise during the exam showed me that I have been slacking way too much on my team's training. What if Hono had been a Charmeleon? I bet we could have made a better showing if he had evolved," said Sasuke. His strongest Pokémon were the freshly caught ones.

Hinata nodded in agreement, her team could use some training as well. Besides, it wasn't like any of their friends had gone into the exams.

* * *

Naruto was training his ass off trying to master the Rasengan. So far he had a rough version down, but he had yet to get it to the right size. Close by Sasuke was having his team spar with Naruto's, who fought under the guidance of one of his clones. Naruto's clone wasn't trying very hard and was letting the other Pokémon earn some experience while he worked with Kiseki.

He finally figured out that her ability was Pressure, which made doing attacks twice as hard as they could have been. That was the perfect way to get Sasuke to _think_ before he ordered an attack.

Hinata worked with Kurama (who was recently evolved into a Ninetails once he hit level 30. Naruto had placed a Fire Stone on the ground and left it up to the fox Pokémon. Kurama touched the stone and became a beautiful and very sleek Ninetails.) and was trying to level up her team.

Her father had actually approved of her decision to spend the day training and had left her alone.

She paused when his clone went to heal both Pokémon to see what he was doing. From what she could tell, he was trying to make a miniaturized Kaiten.

"Naruto, what is that?"

"According to the Pervy Sage, this is called the Rasengan. I got the power and shape down, but the form refuses to take," he complained.

Hinata thought about it and decided to try to see if she could help.

"That almost looks like the Kaiten, only a lot smaller," she admitted.

Naruto's eyes light up.

"Think I could see your Kaiten?" he asked. Perhaps he could get an idea from that.

Hinata nodded, and took a stance, giving everyone a lot of room. All of them had taken a break to watch.

"Kaiten!" she cried, expelling chakra all over her body while spinning.

Naruto watched closely. He got an idea of what to try, and waited for Hinata to stop spinning.

"Thanks Hinata! Let's try this one more time! Rasengan!"

Naruto took both hands and started to swirl the chakra in a vortex of currents. This time he kept it compact, like Hinata did her Kaiten. The currents fought him, wanted to expand, but he didn't let it. Finally they settled down into a shape very similar to a seal ball.

Naruto quickly pushed it into the boulder, causing a lot of damage.

"I did it! Finally! Thanks Hinata!" he said, hugging her. She meeped, and turned red.

"...How many hands does it require? You had to shape it with two," Sasuke pointed out.

"Good point. More training!" he said cheerfully.

"In the meantime...Huh?" said Sasuke.

Hono was spewing fire like an Uchiha in pyromaniac mode. When it was all over, he wasn't a Charmander anymore, but the second stage.

"Char!" said Hono. He had a lone horn on his head, his coloring was a bit darker and the flame on his tail was bigger than before. Plus his claws were a bit bigger and it looked like he had actual hands now.

Hinata noticed one of her Pokémon had evolved as well. Her new Wurmple had turned into a Silcoon. Her Chikorita was almost ready to become a Bayleef.

Naruto looked at his clones.

"You guys ready to continue?" asked Naruto.

"You should switch out your Pokémon. Kurama looks like he could use a break and Kiseki is almost at her limits," said Sasuke.

"Hmm...good point. Kiseki, Kurama, return! Go Shifter and Advil!" said Naruto, reclaiming the two and releasing his Golduck. Shifter got up from the branch he was sleeping on and jumped down.

Sasuke looked at Hinata.

"Jen Kan to see who get's Shifter?" said Sasuke. She nodded. Neither of them were particularly eager to fight the crafty Eevee. Sasuke was displeased to have lost to Hinata, but took the news with ease. Time to train his Ghastly and Houndour.

Jiraiya watched the kiddies train with interest. Seeing how at ease they were with the fact the Eevee changed forms (they never batted an eye) he could only conclude Sarutobi had been telling him the truth about the fact it was common knowledge. He watched the Eevee shift forms so quickly it would make his head spin if he though about how it was possible.

He watched the Uchiha boy help his new Ghastly evolve into Haunter and then shuddered at the evil cackling the boy did at the thought of how he could prank his fan girl horde. The girl kept training with the Golduck named Advil (he hid a snort at the name) and helped her Silcoon evolve into a Beautifly. The butterfly Pokémon immediately sat on the girl's head and the girl switched it to her Chikorita.

As Jiraiya watched the kiddies train, he couldn't help the feeling that he had seriously been slacking on his own team. He rarely called on any of them unless it was to serve as a distraction.

"TIME OUT!" yelled Naruto.

"What's up?" asked Sasuke.

"I think we all did enough training today. If we make them level up too fast it will hurt them in the long run. Let them get used to the new forms before we do another hard training day," said Naruto sensibly.

"...Is it just me or does he actually become smarter when it comes to Pokémon?" asked Sasuke to Hinata. She nodded emphatically.

"Well, that and I want to challenge the pervert watching us," admitted Naruto.

"...Pervert?" said the other two in unison.

"Shifter, Ice Beam!"

"GLACEON!"

"AIIIEEE!" yelped Jiraiya, as his boxers suddenly became ice.

"Serves you right for spying! And...What's that sound?"

Naruto looked towards the stadium where the third exam was held.

(For reference, there are two stadiums in Konoha. One for the Chunin Exams and one for the Ranking. The Chunin exam one doesn't have nearly as many seals to protect the audience.)

"...Is that a big purple barrier?" asked Sasuke in disbelief.

"What was today's date again?" asked Naruto.

"Today was the day of the third exam," said Hinata.

They watched as a giant three-headed snake crashed into the walls and shinobi began to pour into the village...none of them wearing a Leaf Headband.

An invasion had begun.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto quickly healed all the Pokémon around him. Then he went to the first ANBU he could find for instructions.

That person was Uzuki Yuugao.

"Chunin Uzumaki Naruto reporting. What are our orders?" asked Naruto. Behind him was Hinata and Sasuke.

"We have Sand and Sound invading the village. I want your team to help evacuate civilians."

"Got it."

Naruto produced over a thousand clones and sent them out. He wisely turned most of them into Sasuke and Hinata to avoid misunderstandings.

There were still people in the village who would stab him first and ask questions second. Yuugao took one look at the amount of clones and started directing some of them to back up the other ANBU. Naruto caught onto her idea and made as many as he safely could.

By the time the invaders made it to the market district, it was bare of civilians.

* * *

"Shifter, Blizzard! Cover their retreat!" shouted Naruto.

"Glaceon!"

"Koori, help Shifter!" yelled a familiar voice. It was Haku.

The air turned to ice in a heartbeat, and the Suna nin were hit rather badly. It was then Naruto noted the odd sack that was on Haku's back.

"Uh, Haku? What's with the sack?"

"Pi!" chirped a voice inside, and the bag opened to reveal a white egg shaped Pokémon with blue and red triangles.

"You got a Togepi?" said Naruto in surprise.

Haku nodded. It had surprised him at the time too.

Naruto laughed as he directed Shifter to cause damage that could easily be repaired.

"If anyone deserves a sweet Pokémon like Togepi it's you Haku. I'm sure your new partner will flourish!" he said laughing.

Haku beamed at him. His new partner had one attack that he loved, which was Metronome.

Why did he love it? It was unpredictable, much like Naruto and Shifter.

"Hokage-sama is fighting Orochimaru!" yelled one of the other Chunin.

Naruto cursed.

He flared his KI, attracting the ANBU nearby. Many of them were the same people he had pranked repeatedly.

"I'm guessing that the Old Man is behind that barrier in the stadium?" he asked. His wasn't the playful Naruto, now he was the Serious Prankster Naruto. This was a kid who practically knew all the escape routes out of the ANBU headquarters like the back of his hand. Including a few areas people normally didn't think about...like the Chunin Exam Arena.

Naruto had one of his clones direct Shifter while he plotted with the ANBU. They were beyond amazed at how thoroughly he knew Konoha's important areas. Naruto took his pranking hobby very seriously. Even if it meant creating an opening that wasn't there before.

Such as a hole that no one knew about in the same area where the Hokage was.

Naruto felt a strange stirring of pride as he lead the ANBU to the area where the Old man was. His clones were clearing out areas piece by piece, and most of the civilians were out of the village and in the bunkers by now. Very few were going to argue with the 'Last Uchiha'.

Naruto directed the ANBU with quick efficiency, much as he would his Pokémon team. All he needed to know was their elements and soon a hole began to form in the underside of the barrier. Naruto knew that the area he had created an opening would be weaker, since he had placed seals around it.

By the time the opening was cleared, five ANBU rushed in to aid the Hokage before it closed.

(Above them the outside teams figured out what was going on and assaulted the barrier so that the first team could get through. The Sound Four were too busy repairing the damage to notice the smaller attacks.)

Naruto nodded to himself and continued to help with the efforts of the Leaf. He noticed that a lot of their forces had gone to the Exam and were out like a light, so he used a technique Kurenai taught him for mass dispelling of genjutsu.

"KAI!"

He channeled as much chakra into that simple 'kai' and released it all at once. The effect was immediate, and nearly everyone in the stadium woke up.

Including a good portion of the chunin. Naruto directed his clones like he would Shifter to rescue the civilians. The shinobi could figure out who was in charge on their own.

* * *

Jiraiya spared a glance from the fight with the snake summons to watch his godson.

It surprised him how efficiently he directed the clones in the rescue and assistance effort. He grinned and brought out three seal balls.

"Go! Gama, Fury and Drifter!" yelled Jiraiya. It had been a long time since he used these three for real.

"Politoad!"

"Blastoise!"

"Drifblim!"

Gama (Politoad) made a show of looking for angry females, and when he saw the invasion he gave Jiraiya a look.

"Toad, Toad, Politoad," said Gama.

"Huh?"

Shifter, who had been passing by with a Naruto clone in Espeon form, snorted in amusement.

"_He said 'You make us stay in the balls for months at a time, only letting us out to deal with a crowd of angry females, and NOW you decide to let us fight again?'"_ Shifter translated.

"Hey! It's not my fault no one wants to battle me!" protested Jiraiya.

"Toise, Blastiose."

"_'That is still no excuse to leave us in that cramped seal ball for months at a time!'"_

Jiraiya looked at his final Pokémon who had turned away from him in irritation. He called on Drifter more than the others, but it had a problem with the fact the man was so damn heavy and only called on him to escape the mobs.

Jiraiya sweatdropped. He tried to bribe his Pokémon but they wouldn't have it. They were beyond ticked at him.

This wasn't the first case of a Pokémon refusing to answer to their trainer, and no matter how many medals Jiraiya had they had long since lost any respect for him. Finally Jiraiya gave up and sent them back.

Naruto had arrived midway during the arguments and shook his head.

"Serves you right you pervert. No one likes to work for someone they have no respect for!" said Naruto.

"Like you could do better brat! Your team is still young enough to listen to you! This happens a lot with the more powerful and older Pokémon!" growled Jiraiya.

"Well yeah, what do you expect? I mean I've seen those teams and the shinobi barely treat them any better than a Nin Animal! Why should they respect you when you don't give any back?"

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you do better with these three!" said Jiraiya.

"Is that a challenge?" said Naruto evilly.

"Yes! If you can get these three to work under you, I'll train you in sealing!" said Jiraiya glaring.

"Deal! If you can handle Kurama, I'll apologize for calling you Ero-Sannin!" said Naruto cackling. Kurama didn't like perverts. He especially hated people who assumed they could order you around without getting to know you first.

Jiraiya handed over his seal balls and Naruto called over Kurama. He leaned down to the Ninetails and told him of the bet. Kurama glared at Jiraiya.

"Come on Fox, let's go!" said Jiraiya.

Naruto snickered as he ran off in another direction with the three seal balls.

* * *

"Come on out, Gama-san, Fury-san, and Drifter-san!" said Naruto when he was in another district.

The Politoad, Blastiose and Drifblim looked at the blond. He wasn't old enough to order them around and they were still pissed.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I made a bet with that stupid Pervy Sage to prove he was treating you guys wrong. Care to prove me right?"

"Toad, Toad, Politoad?"

"Yeah I know the guy's a total moron, but that doesn't mean all of the trainers in Konoha are. Besides, if you work with me I'll treat you all to ramen!"

"Toise, Blastoise Toise."

"Dango for you then. Anko-nee's gonna love having someone to share her dango with," said Naruto easily.

"Drifblim, Drif."

"So we have one order of ramen for Gama, one large order of dango for Fury and one order of Gyudon for Drifter. Did I get that right?" asked Naruto. He made a point of writing it down so he wouldn't forget.

The three Pokémon nodded. Jiraiya never treated them to food except to feed them and even then it was always the packaged stuff for Pokémon.

"Alright! Shall we get to it?" asked Naruto.

He got a very enthusiastic reply from the three he borrowed from Jiraiya.

* * *

"Fury, Advil, Hydro Pump! Shifter, use Icy Wind to make it hard!"

Fury seemed to get Naruto's idea, because he shot his Hydro Pump in short but very large bursts that resulted in giant ice bombs being launched that turned to water once they hit something solid.

Beside Naruto was a clone, since he didn't like splitting his attention during a battle using Pokémon. Kiseki was tag-teaming with Drifter while Shifter worked with Gama and Fury.

"Gama-chan, use Doubleslap!"

Naruto held back a laugh when he saw the look Gama shot him. It was a slip of the tongue, because the Politoad had the same name as his wallet!

He then noticed something in the distance. Jiraiya was having a _lot _of trouble with Kurama. It almost looked like he was fighting two battles, one with the enemy and one with the fox Pokémon.

"OW! DAMMIT YOU STUPID FOX! YOU'LL LISTEN TO MY COMMANDS OR ELSE! OW! QUIT TRYING TO SET ME ON FIRE DAMMIT!"

The ANBU nearby who recognized the fox immediately sweatdropped. Even they knew he would never get anywhere like that. The same ANBU who ordered Naruto to evacuate the civilians hid a grin behind her mask.

After seeing the way the kid treated his team, she had upped her training with her Pokémon and found them to be more obedient afterwords.

Thanks to Naruto, over half the ANBU (those that didn't see him as the fox and got a good laugh at his pranks) found his methods to be more effective when it came to training Pokémon and their bond grew. A few, who had caught Pokémon that evolved through love had even managed to evolve them. There were now more Espeon, Umbreon and Togetic in the squads. Some of the breeders even had some new Chansey after they found some Happiny eggs.

Needless to say the Hokage was pleased when he heard about that.

"Neko-taicho, what do we do?"

"Keep an eye on Kurama and don't let him get killed. Other than that, leave them alone. I'm not about to interfere in this bet and Jiraiya-sama needs to learn some humility," said Yuugao smugly.

The other two Kunoichi in the group nodded in agreement. This was more than enough payback for all the times he tried to break into the secret Kunoichi hotsprings.

Out of all the males in Konoha, only Naruto was allowed in, and even then he had to be in henge form and hand over everything but his towel. Naruto had agreed to the terms since he respected them as fellow warriors.

The Hokage had been beyond jealous when he heard about that.

* * *

By the end of the day, quite a few things had happened.

One, Sarutobi Hiruzen was nearly killed by his old student and had lost an arm in the battle.

Two, Jiraiya found that he had lost any and all respect from the trainers of the village when they heard about the bet and the fact that his Pokémon worked with Naruto and didn't argue, despite being far above his skill level.

Three, the Suna/Sound Invasion turned out to be a total bust when they realized Gaara was fighting against his own village instead of turning into Shukaku like he was told.

In short, everything was chaos for a few days.

Oh, and Naruto didn't cry one bit as Gama, Fury and Drifter nearly ate him out of his savings. The fact Kurama, Shifter, Advil and Kiseki were helping them didn't count either.

Jiraiya was beyond miffed when, after the Hokage heard the terms of the bet and the result, he just laughed at him.

Still, he did give Jiraiya clearance to go looking for Tsunade since the pervert had no intention of being Hokage no matter what anyone said.

At least he never used his fourth Pokémon. Croaker (Croagunk) had a nasty habit of hitting him with his poison jab whenever he saw him spying. Why he did it, Jiraiya had no idea, but he never got rid of the ball or traded it for a new one.

_(LOL, think of how Brock's Croagunk jabs him every time he hits on girls and you'll get the idea.)_

In an effort to try and bridge the gap he caused with the bet and insulting Naruto's best Pokémon, Jiraiya offered to take the kid with him to find Tsunade.

Naruto went with him for one reason.

He wanted to ask Tsunade if she could train Haku and Hinata, because those two were the best at medical jutsu and they could only get better if they had a real teacher! Besides, Naruto knew Hinata wanted to be a medic, but thanks to her dumb father she couldn't without getting in trouble.

Hiashi couldn't complain if Tsunade of the Senju clan trained his daughter!

* * *

Naruto was about to open the door when he noticed the glare Shifter was giving it.

"What's up?"

"_There is something foul on the other side of the door. Bring out one of Jiraiya's seal balls just in case. Preferably the one that can fly."_

Naruto edged towards the window and brought out Drifter. Jiraiya had let him hold onto the seal balls for some reason, probably because his own team refused to listen to him anymore and preferred Naruto. Sarutobi had found that rather amusing to be honest.

Shifter opened the door, and Naruto only saw the Sharingan in all it's glory before Drifter took off. Shifter had jumped onto his head before he opened the door.

Naruto grinned when he heard the two behind the door curse (well the blue one anyway) and they ran outside to chase him.

Too bad he had other plans.

Naruto dropped off on a building where it would take them a while to climb or jump up, and quickly switched out his gear. All of his identifying markers went into a seal and Shifter went into his seal ball which Naruto very rarely used.

"Henge!"

Where Naruto Uzumaki had stood before, there was now Naruko Mitarashi (that was his cover name whenever he went into Naruko form undercover). And just to insure the Uchiha jerk didn't sense him, he place the strongest chakra draining seal on himself. It wouldn't interfere with the henge (he had checked that once when Anko asked) but it would dim his chakra signature.

She cheerfully walked off the building and went looking for Jiraiya. She fully intended to unleash the fury of Croaker on him for ditching her.

* * *

Itachi looked for Naruto and still couldn't locate the distinct Kyuubi-chakra. His Sharingan passed over a woman with crimson red hair the same shade as Kushina Uzumaki and he dismissed her. She barely had a genin's worth of chakra in her, she was clearly a drop out of the Academy.

Kisame growled in frustration before he turned to his partner.

"Now what do we do?"

"We continue to search for him. It shouldn't be that hard, his Eevee tends to stand out a lot."

"How so?"

"It can switch between it's evolutionary forms and return to being an Eevee," said Itachi flatly.

* * *

"Brat, what the hell did you come here for?!" demanded Jiraiya.

"Sasuke's brother is here with what I'm assuming is a former member of the Seven Swordsmen," said Naruko flatly.

"What?!"

"Itachi Uchiha and his accomplice are here. Why else would I have a chakra drain seal on me you idiot?" demanded an irate Naruko.

Jiraiya noticed it and was about to remove it when Naruko slapped his hand away.

"I can only assume they are here for me since I overheard Itachi talk about Shifter. Why the hell are you trying to paint a sign as to where I am?" he...she demanded.

Jiraiya conceded the kid's point. The fact he had been able to fool an Uchiha with his henge was beyond strange.

"Meet me outside the village while I get my deposit back, we're leaving early."

Naruko grumbled. At least she would get to see the festival that would be in full swing the next town over.


	13. Chapter 13

Jiraiya was surprised when his hand brushed against his student's chest as he went to remove the chakra draining seal (Naruto had put one on that he couldn't remove on his own since it was the best one he had) and discovered that the henge was solid. As in it felt like actual flesh and blood.

"What the hell?"

"Would you hurry up already you damn pervert?" asked Naruto.

"Your henge...it's solid! That's not supposed to be possible!"

"My transformation is always solid! Why do you think Anko and Kurenai-sensei let me join them in the Kunoichi Hot Springs?"

"...You know where the secret Kunoichi Hot Springs are and they don't kill you for it? How much would do you want for pictures?" said Jiraiya drooling out of the corner of his mouth.

"Pervy Sage, you couldn't _pay_ me enough to betray the trust Kurenai-sensei showed me in letting me come up there with her and Anko. Besides, part of the agreement is to surrender everything but my towel every time I go. Unlike you I respect women."

"I respect women!" protested Jiraiya.

"No, you don't. If you did then you would noticed that all you're doing is humiliating them with your books. Do you think they _enjoy_ reading about Kunoichi who are just hot and kinky? Maybe if your books didn't turn men into perverts they wouldn't chase you as much."

Anko had given Naruto one of Jiraiya's books as a joke once, and Naruto had nearly thrown it away. The only reason he hadn't was because it had been a gift.

When he mentioned it to Kurenai, she had been furious...right up until the point that Naruto said his Pokémon Anatomy books that he borrowed were more interesting...and better written.

It was that incident that caused Kurenai to invite him and Hinata to the secret Kunoichi Hot Springs. Well, that and Naruto swore on his honor he wouldn't break the contract they made him sign under pain of death or worse.

Plus there was the fact he didn't even care when he saw a few of the Yuri girls in the springs going at it. That alone secured him an all access pass to the springs.

Eventually they decided to drop the subject, since neither was willing to budge. Meahwhile Naruto started humming a song he kept hearing whenever he went to sleep.

"Naruto, where did you hear that?" asked Jiraiya suspiciously.

"Around, why?"

"Because that sounds far too much like the oldest lullaby in the Land of Whirlpools. Something only the direct line should know."

"Whenever I fall asleep I hear this weird noise, like singing. What's this tune called anyway?"

"_The Song of Lugia,_" said Jiraiya, "Supposedly it has the power to calm the sea down and restore Lugia's power whenever nature is upset.

"Wait, I've heard of that story...where did I... Here it is! _Pokémon Legends: Tales of Pokémon Before and After the Cataclysm._"

"_Long ago the balance between Fire, Ice and Lightning was upset and the Beast of the Sea was awakened. Nature was thrown off-balance and the world was at Peril until a great Trainer came and brought forth the treasures from Fire Island, Lightning Island and Ice Island. A young maiden played the ancient song which restored the balance and the sea was tamed,"_ read Naruto. Inside was a picture of the trainer.

Naruto turned the page and found a music score written. Above was the title 'Song of Lugia'.

"Huh..."

While Jiraiya went to find the nearest brothel, Naruto enjoyed the festival. He found an interesting stand on the way back to the hotel.

* * *

"Wow, cool shells!" said Naruto

"You have a good eye! These here shells came from the Land of Whirlpools," said the owner.

"What's this?" asked Naruto, pointing to an odd-shaped shell that almost looked like a musical instrument.

"No idea. Found that in the shallow waters. If you want it, it's 1,000 ryo."

"I say 750," said Naruto. Despite popular belief, he did know how to haggle. Soon he had it down to 650, and he paid the man.

Once he washed off the mouth piece, he blew through the spike at the top. It made a strange sound, but didn't really sound like music. Then Naruto turned the round shell and plug a hole with his finger. A soft tone came from the shell. As he experimented, he found that it did make music. It just took practice. His next stop was a book store to buy a scroll on music notes.

Naruto had his fill of the festival, so he spent a lot of time trying out the shell. By the time Jiraiya got back from the brothel, Naruto had more or less figured out how to recreate the song he kept hearing in his head.

* * *

"Kid, will you quit fiddling with that shell?" said Jiraiya tiredly. The missed notes were giving him a headache.

"Will you quit being a pervert?" Naruto countered.

"Never!"

"Then don't get your hopes up!" said Naruto.

Finally Naruto hit the last note and grinned.

"Time to test this out!"

Jiraiya groaned...right up until he realized what song Naruto had been trying to make.

(_If you have it, play the flute song from Pokémon 2000. That's what Naruto is playing right now._)

Jiraiya was in shock. It almost sounded like a Pokémon singing.

"Kid, where did you get the idea for that?"

"I thought I would recreate the song I keep hearing!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Jiraiya chuckled and said something under his breath. It went something along the lines of '_trust her son to recreate the song by ear..._'.

Naruto spent the rest of the way to the next town looking through the book of legends and found another music score called _"Oracion"_. Jiraiya opted to help the brat in the hopes that he wouldn't kill his hearing with missed notes again.

Soon Naruto was playing songs all the way to the next town, occasionally hitting the wrong note and correcting it. He had no idea what would happen by playing those songs.

Someone was starting to take notice of him.

* * *

_Arceus...that boy..._ started a silvery shadow.

_Yes, he is the one. He shall restore the harmony that has been lost in this world. Much like he did before,_ spoke another.

_But are we sure he will realize who he once was? He has been chosen for more than just one fate,_ said a voice. This speaker had been created not by belief or by fate, but by the meddling of humans.

_First he must restore the home of his ancestors,_ said one voice. This voice was icy and sounded like a chirp.

_Shall we test him once more?_ asked one voice. This sounded like flowing waves and the bitter cold wind of the North.

_We shall place him under the same trials that he had triumphed once before. Perhaps this time the world shall live on._

_I seems to me that these...shinobi...are faring much better than their predecessors ever did. Many of them can fight like we can! _Said a voice like thunder and roaring.

_That is not exactly a good thing,_ said another disapprovingly. This voice sounded like magma blasts and a lion's roar.

_Agreed. Many of them take their partners for granted. Some consider them no more than simple animals,_ complained the voice from earlier.

_Yes, but he is different,_ said the voice of the cold wind.

_Do you really think one child can change an entire world?' _asked the oldest.

_He has to...otherwise it will be all for not._

* * *

Naruto was experimenting with something the old Hokage mentioned years ago. He called it a leaf whistle. Jiraiya was cursing the fact that Naruto had figured out how to use music to make his life hell. Because the boy hated mornings less than he did, he found it amusing to use a piercing note to make Jiraiya cry because of his hang over.

The only thing that cheered him up was that fact that if he hated the kid now, then Tsunade was liable to kill him. She had hangovers more than he did!

"What the hell is that racket!?" demanded a very familiar female voice. A woman with two long blond pigtails looked outside for the source of the noise.

Jiraiya didn't think twice. He pointed at the brat beside him.

"Sorry lady, just making his life miserable," grinned Naruto.

"Do that again and I will send my Gastrodons after you!" she growled.

"...Why would you have more than one?" he asked.

"Come out!" she yelled, tossing twin seal balls in the air.

"Gastrodon!" came the twin cries. Naruto could see why she had two.

One was blue, green and dark gray. The other was pink, yellow and gray.

"I get it now! You have an East and West sea version! You must really like slugs!" said Naruto grinning.

"She's called the Slug Sannin you halfwit," snorted Jiraiya. Naruto paid him no mind, chatting with the two Gastrodon. They seemed surprised but crooned in their odd language back.

Naruto beamed at the amused Tsunade.

"I like you lady! You're a hundred times better than this old pervert!" said Naruto.

Tsunade looked at him oddly.

"What makes you say that brat?"

"Trowa and Gazzy say you treat them like your own children, and that they love your cooking. They also say you at least let them out to play which is more than Toad Breath over here does!"

"...Who told you their names?"

"They did! Shifter may have translated for me, but they told me!" said Naruto.

"Espeon!"

Tsunade ruffled his hair, and he kept on grinning. Then she noticed something.

"...Wasn't that an Espeon earlier?"

"Vee!"

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me! Everyone in the village kept giving me these damn looks like _I_ was the one who was weird!" complained Jiraiya.

"Oi! I told you before, don't make fun of Shifter! BITE!"

The Eevee's eyes glinted evilly as it launched itself at the Toad Sage, who _(sadly?)_ did not get out of the way in time.

"YOW! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" he cried.

Tsunade snickered evilly.

"Nice aim kid."

"Thanks. He has been warned before, don't mock the Eevee. And never, ever diss the Duck," said Naruto sagely.

"?"

"Come on out guys!"

"Sol!"

"Nine!"

"Gol!"

"Meet Kiseki, Kurama and Ibuprofen, AKA Advil. And that's Shifter!"

Tsunade smiled at him. Clearly this was a shinobi who took the idea of 'your team is your family' seriously. Something Jiraiya and Orochimaru never fully understood.

"Well, since you've meet Trowa and Gazzy...stop laughing dammit! I was thirteen!" snarled Tsunade. Jiraiya was snickering at the their names which were decidedly cute. Naruto kicked him in the leg hard and Shifter was giving the man's leg speculative glances. He wisely shut his trap.

"Like I was saying, since you've meet Trowa and Gazzy, why don't you mean Joy, Zel and Dusty?"

"Blissey!"

"Floatzel!"

"Dustox!"

"Trying for a Beautifly?" asked Naruto knowingly. She nodded. While Naruto got acquainted with Tsunade's team (Shizune was too busy watching him and she only had two herself), Jiraiya told her why they were there.

Needless to say she was less than pleased.

Fortunately Naruto had the perfect distraction.

"I bet my Shifter can beat your Zel!"

"You're on brat. I haven't had a decent battle in ages!" grinned Tsunade.

* * *

"Shifter, Razor Leaf!"

"Leafeon!" cried Shifter, changing into his Grass form and unleashing a flurry of leaves. Tsunade's jaw appropriately dropped.

"Zel, use Bubblebeam!" said Tsunade.

"Floatzel!"

A massive stream of bubbles struck the ground near Shifter, who had dodged with ease.

"Use Leaf Tackle!" said Naruto.

"Feon!"

Leaves and vines surrounded Shifter, turning his body a darker green as he began to glow. He struck Zel full on, as Tsunade was too surprised to see a move she had never heard of to react.

"How the hell... I've never even heard of that attack!" said Tsunade.

"Well duh, I came up with it after reading how Volt Tackle worked. I figured if an electric Pokémon can cover it's body with electricity and charge with a tackle, then why can't I do the same with the other elements? So far I got Night Tackle, Psy Tackle, Leaf Tackle, Frost Tackle and I'm working on Sand Tackle and Spike Tackle. It's fun coming up with new ways to use old attacks," said Naruto proudly.

Tsunade laughed. It had been a very long time since she saw anyone who actually bothered to come up with new ways to attack and not rest on the standards.

"I like you kid. Too bad I enjoy battling. Zel, use Surf!"

A wave of water appeared out of nowhere and nearly engulfed Shifter.

"Shifter, Ice Beam!"

"Glaceon!"

Shifter froze most of the water, but he was still hit.

"Shifter, use Icy Wind!"

"Glaceon!"

Shifter spat out a long stream of freezing cold wind.

"Zel, use bubblebeam!"

"Shifter, Ice Beam!"

Shifter shot a beam of ice at the bubbles, freezing them instantly. They fell to the ground with a thud.

"Shifter, use Bite!"

Shifter turned into his Umbreon form.

"Breon!"

"Floatzel!" cried Zel in pain.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Just how strong is that Bite of his?" asked Tsunade. No way a simple attack could cause _that_ much damage.

"Shifter, use Bite on this log to demonstrate," said Naruto.

"Breon!"

Shifter's Bite turned the log into splinters. It was roughly the size of Jiraiya's arm.

"Shifter's Bite strength has been calculated to be as strong as a Feraligatr's," said Naruto proudly.

Tsunade laughed. She conceded this match to Naruto. Still, it had been a fun battle. That Eevee of his was too unpredictable for her to compensate for.

"Kid, would you mind if I examined that Eevee of yours?"

"That depends on Shifter. He normally only let's Hana-nee-san give him check-ups," said Naruto.

"Eevee!"

Tsunade bent down for the Eevee to come to her. Shifter sniffed her hand...and cautiously let her pick him up. She used a medical jutsu to check him over.

"Well he's definitely one of the best cared for Pokémon I've seen I a while. His coat is glossy and full, his teeth are extremely sharp, and his nails are at an acceptable length. However my scan shows a lot of unusual pathogens in his blood."

"I already knew that. Hana-nee-chan sent his blood to the lab, and according to them he had been experimented on before I found him. It took him a long time to trust anyone but me."

"Well his health checks out. And I don't see any issues with him changing between his evolved forms and back."

"The only issue I have is how many chew toys I've had to buy. His teeth are replaced at least once a month," said Naruto.

"Have you ever exposed him to an evolutionary stone?" she asked.

"No way! Shifter would be stuck in that form forever! I like him the way he is now. That's why when I found an Everstone I made him a necklace so even if someone tried to force him to evolve he'd stay the same."

"Well at least you take care of your Pokémon...which is more than I can say for _him_," said Tsunade, glaring at Jiraiya. She had gotten onto him for months for not treating his Pokémon like his partners.

Jiraiya was too busy chatting with Shizune to notice the glare.


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto's eyes lit up when he learned Tsunade had an old book of songs from before the Cataclysm in the Senju compound. Naruto didn't realize he loved music so much, but now that he learned how to play from a music score he realized that he liked his new hobby.

He couldn't wait to show the old man his new leaf whistle.

All they had to do was wait for Tsunade's errand to be finished and they could go home...with a short side trip anyway. Naruto had learned through one of the vendors who sold fish caught off a nearby coast that the Land of Whirlpools was roughly two days away from where they were.

And since Naruto was their resident expert on all things Pokémon, he wanted to see the place where shinobi originated before their return. Plus he had the weirdest feeling that he needed to go there.

Jiraiya agreed to it, so long as Naruto quit sending Shifter after him. Plus this was a good way to introduce the kid to his heritage from his mother.

* * *

Naruto knew something was wrong when Shifter kept shaking him.

"What's up?"

He found Shizune and her partner Grumpig (which she named Sleepy because it hated to get up in the mornings) were out on the floor, clearly poisoned.

Naruto immediately went into his bags and found the Breeder's Field Kit for emergency first aid. He had gotten it after passing the qualifier exams as a joke, even though he didn't want to be a Breeder or a medic. Sleepy became right as rain within minutes, but the poison in Shizune would take time to work out.

"Tsunade...she went to meet Orochimaru!" said Shizune, the antidote kicking in.

Naruto found Jiraiya laid out from another poison, and despite his protests Naruto gave him the broad spectrum antidote from the kit.

Just because his chakra control was too sloppy to ever be a medic nin didn't mean he couldn't learn how to heal without it. And he had been nearly beaten to death far too many times before Shifter came along to not want to learn how to heal himself. And Hana didn't mind teaching him.

"Kid, how the hell do you have a Deluxe Breeder's Field Kit with you?" asked Jiraiya, who was feeling his limbs again.

"Passed the qualifier. I'm fully registered and qualified for most Pokémon injuries but I never bothered to take the one to become a full medic. With my control there wasn't any point. But as long as you can pass the qualifier you're legally allowed to buy any version of the Breeder's Field Kits baring the one that requires a mastery."

Shizune stared at him.

"Are you saying you're a qualified breeder?"

"I can do anything short of surgery. You have to take medic classes in order to learn that, and I couldn't. Besides, I got beaten up way too many times to count to rely on hospitals, which were iffy at best," said Naruto, replacing everything in his kit with precision.

The kit he had was an emergency treatment kit that only people with breeder training could get. It was far more expensive than the broad spectrum of healing equipment he had for standard injuries, like Full Heal and Super Potions. If Hana hadn't helped him study so he could get the Breeder's kit, he would be stuck with only the minimum needed to help his team.

Despite being called the Village Idiot, Naruto preferred being prepared for the worst. Plus it saved on hospital bills.

He pulled out one of his seal balls and sent Kiseki out to find Tsunade. She was one of the fastest on his team, second only to Shifter.

* * *

Naruto glared at Kabuto. Despite being a fellow trainer, the man barely knew anything about Pokémon. No way was that low score during the ranking exam first round a fluke.

And his Kecleon was beyond weak. Unlike Naruto, who preferred to train his Pokémon first and gradually get stronger with them, Kabuto clearly didn't train his Pokémon at all.

Naruto hated people like that.

Naruto leaned down to fiddle with his leg warmers.

"Brat, I don't think now is the time to adjust your outfit," said Jiraiya.

"Hold on a second... There. Now I'm ready to rock!"

Kabuto smiled coldly and went to strike at Naruto. There was only one problem.

He wasn't there.

Faster than anyone could blink, Naruto was gone. Jiraiya wasn't the only one to blink.

"What the...?" was the general consensus.

"Bushy Brows and Gai aren't the only one who knows the value of weight training to the extremes!" said Naruto pleased.

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched.

"Kid, exactly how much weight did you take off?"

"About the same as an Onix," came Naruto's flippant reply.

Tsunade and Shizune gaped. The average Onix weighed 463 pounds. And this kid had that much strain on his body?!

"Why the hell would you have 463 pounds on you?!" demanded Shizune.

"It was a bet with Chouji," said Naruto shrugging. The rather rotund boy had bet Naruto that he couldn't lift a Snorlax all the way over his head, and if he ever did then he would give him a Munchlax from his clan's training grounds. His father had agreed to it mostly because he didn't think it was possible unless you were Tsunade or had opened all the Inner Gates.

Naruto had just found Shifter a week before, so he had agreed to the terms hoping to add to his team. That had been nearly six years ago. He had kept adding to his weights whenever Hana gave him the all clear to do so. Unlike Lee or Gai, he knew when the weights became too much. Which was why twice a week he took them off and just relaxed with his Pokémon.

That was more than the Green Duo ever did.

(Also the only reason Hana even let him try such a stupid thing.)

Kabuto who heard that comment sweatdropped. Now he really didn't want to get hit by the teen.

"Come on out, Kurama!" shouted Naruto.

Naruto knew one thing from his battles, never bring out your best Pokémon until the end. That way you could come out and surprise your opponent.

Besides, it helped to level up the weaker ones.

"A poor move Naruto-kun," said Kabuto. What Naruto didn't know was that he kept Kecleon for appearances sake. His real partner was much more dangerous.

"Come out, Banette!" yelled Kabuto.

Naruto paled. Banette was a ghost type and he didn't do too well with those. It was bad enough he had issues with _human_ ghosts.

"Kurama, Shadow Ball!" shouted Naruto. Meanwhile he went after Kabuto.

"Nine!"

An orb of darkness appeared before Kurama, and it hit Banette dead-on. At least that was what Naruto thought. The Marionette Pokémon had thrown up a Protect at the last second. Naruto decided to copy Tsunade and struck the ground.

It split apart as if hit by an Earthquake attack.

"Very impressive Naruto-kun. Though I do wonder why you spend all your time training your Pokémon instead of yourself."

"Train the mind before the body, and all will fall before you. I'll wait to learn the super moves once my body is ready to handle that kind of strain. And the more I learn about Pokémon, the better I'll be able to take care of them in emergency situations. Might as well do it while I have the time before the real trouble starts."

Naruto turned to Kurama, who was still battling the Banette.

"Kurama, Future Sight!"

"Nine!"

Kurama's eyes glowed before it stopped.

"A useless move. It had absolutely no effect," said Kabuto snidely.

Naruto didn't stop smirking at him though. Unlike Kabuto, Naruto knew _exactly_ what Future Sight did. It was a time-delayed move, one that was near impossible to predict when it would hit.

There was a reason why Naruto loved Psychic types...though he had no idea why he kept catching them.

"NETTE!" Banette cried out in pain which distracted Kabuto long enough for Naruto to land a nasty blow to the temple.

"What the hell was that?" he ground out.

"Future Sight," said Naruto simply. Kabuto had taken a serious hit to the head, so his vision was a bit iffy at the moment. His healing factor, however, was still up and running.

So instead of attacking Naruto directly (which he realized would be nearly as suicidal as attacking Tsunade in a straight out taijutsu fight) he went after Kurama instead.

"NINE!"

Kurama cried out in pain as Kabuto used his chakra scapel to sever one of his nine luxurious tails.

"Kurama!"

By the time Naruto got to his partner, it was clear that the Ninetails would bleed out from the wound. He wouldn't be able to stop the bleeding in time.

Naruto saw red. This was the only Pokémon he had ever raised from the egg... Kurama trusted him completely. Kabuto would be lucky to get away from this fight alive. He had no idea the reaction the Kyuubi had to what Kabuto had done, but at the moment Naruto could care less if the Fox ripped the bastard apart.

* * *

_Kurama was inside the seal. He knew what it looked like...he had felt the presence of the old one inside Naruto even from the egg._

_There was an odd quirk to the Kyuubi. He had the ability to sync his chakra with the power of any fox Pokémon bonded to his jailor. It was something Kushina had experimented with when she learned of it, but nothing had ever come out of it._

_However the one Naruto had raised was different. It shared a name with the Kyuubi and didn't fear him._

_When Kyuubi saw what Kabuto did to its cousin, it felt rage, a sentiment shared with his jailor. No fox should ever lose a tail like that. For once Kyuubi was ready to work with his idiot jailor._

_So, he sent a little bit of his chakra to the almost unconscious Ninetails. Kurama looked up and met it's eyes with the demon fox._

"_**I will make you a deal, little fox. Tell that idiot trainer of yours that I want to make an arrangement with him, and I will help you and restore your lost tail. In exchange you shall become a Shiny Ninetails, and have access to my powers."**_

"_What's in this for you, old one?"_

"_**No respectable fox should ever lose a tail like that. Especially to a sniveling coward like this shinobi. At least my idiot jailor knows how to treat his team properly."**_

_Kurama looked at the old fox, and said "We have an accord, old one. I will inform Naruto of your desire to work out an arrangement when this is over."_

"_**Good. Now prepare little fox, because this will be most unpleasant. Perhaps you will fare better than the brat's mother did when she first attempted this."**_

* * *

Jiraiya didn't know what happened. One minute Naruto was battling the traitor (and doing better than he had every hoped for) the next, he was about to unleash the Kyuubi's chakra on the battlefield. Something he had never tried before, let alone knew how to control. Jiraiya had never had the chance to show the kid how to channel it properly for anything constructive. If he had taken the Chunin exams like he originally thought, maybe he would have had the chance.

An explosion of red, violent chakra coated Naruto. What he didn't notice until a few moments later was that a single tail reached out to the downed Ninetails.

"NINETAILS!" cried Kurama in shock.

The foul red chakra was enveloping the downed Pokémon, filling it up with new power and shooting his level up by five. The light orange tips of his eight tails suddenly turned a fire-red, and the ends of his fur became like fire. The multifaceted eyes, which were originally a dominant midnight blue, became a violent crimson red with blue streaks.

Kurama stood up, and everyone watched in shock as the tail which had been severed so cruelly was regrown. The claws became sharper and more fierce. The Pokémon's height became closer to Naruto's chest. And on the end of each tail was a single crimson flame. A shower of red colored sparkles appeared before him.

Kurama had become a Shiny Ninetails due to the influence of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.

Not that Naruto cared how rare his Pokémon had become. He was just glad Kurama was alright again.

By the time Naruto and Kurama were done with Kabuto you would have to pick up the pieces with tweezers. Naruto did _not_ take an attack that nearly killed one of his team very well, and this was one time that the Kyuubi could agree on. Needless to say Jiraiya was looking a little queasy from the fact that Naruto had let the Kyuubi out long enough to tear Kabuto limb from limb.

(Not because of the blood but because the KI the Kyuubi let off is pretty damn foul.)

**(I'm skipping to the next scene because you can probably guess what happened next. Orochi got his ass kicked soundly and ran with his tail between his legs thanks to Jiraiya and Tsunade tag teaming against him.)**

* * *

Tsunade examined Kurama with a professional eye. By all accounts he had suddenly gone up five levels and became a Shiny Pokémon (who were supposedly blessed by the gods themselves, though there was never confirmation of this) simply by coming into direct contact with unfiltered bijuu chakra from the world's largest nine-tailed fox. In fact for some odd reason there appeared to be no adverse side-effects barring the large amount of pain he felt regrowing his cut off tail.

Naruto was currently sleeping off the excess chakra (and unknown to the two Sannin and Medic nin working out a deal with the cranky fox that would benefit both parties) so they had to wait until he was able to move on his own before they made that short side trip to Whirlpool.

They were mostly agreeing to the destination because A) it was part of his heritage and he wanted to see it at least _once_ and B) according to their resident expert on all things before the Cataclysm (when tested about whether or not he actually read the books he bought Iruka learned Naruto actually knew more about pre-Shinobi era than most of the teachers at the Academy who barely dipped into the subject, which made him the premier expert in the Leaf village. Even the old Hokage hadn't bothered to learn about life before the Cataclysm) it was the birthplace of seal balls.

Even Jiraiya wanted to see that. Besides, one never knew what you could find by raiding an old village.

* * *

**Inside the seal...**

"Alright Fox, Kurama said you wanted to make an arrangement we can both agree to, so here I am. Since you did save his life, I am willing to hear any requests you want to make," said Naruto.

The Kyuubi blinked. At least the kid was willing to hear him out.

"**First off, could you change the damn scenery around here? Sewers are not that fun to be stuck in," **complained Kyuubi.

"Uh...how do I change the scenery?"

"**Easily. Think of an area you feel most comfortable in and it will change."**

Naruto blinked and actually thought about it. He didn't know _why_ his mind looked like a sewer by default, but it wasn't very interesting. So instead he turned his mind into Konoha. All his knowledge was pooled into the bookstore he frequented (since he wasn't known as a very good student they never had reason to ban him, and it was run by people who had never lost anyone to the Fox, so they didn't have a grudge against him) his Jutsu repertoire (which was larger than one would expect) became the Academy, and Ichiraku held all his most precious memories like when Shifter first started to truly trust him.

The Kyuubi, to his disbelief, was stuck on top of the Hokage mountain in a golden cage that didn't really fit him at all.

"What the heck? Why are you still in a cage?"

"**Because the one in charge of it refuses to let me walk around!"** growled Kyuubi.

Naruto put his hands on the bar closest to him. He could feel the warmth of the gold, as if it were alive.

"Could you possibly become a collar or something? Despite being a grouch he can't be all that bad," asked Naruto.

He could feel the bars warm under his hands, as if thinking. Then, they melted like water and became chains. The chains wrapped themselves around Kyuubi like a collar and around each limb.

The Fox shifted, as if testing his new-found freedom.

"**Impressive. It seems that you at least can be reasoned with, unlike your mother."**

"You saved Kurama. I figure that at least earns you the benefit of a doubt in my book."

"**Like I would allow one of the foxes who share my spirit be killed by a wretch like that snake. I have been watching you, little shinobi, and from what I've seen your dedication to your pack is admirable. You hate reading, yet you adapted it into a hobby in order to protect what is yours. You had no qualms about killing one who tried to harm your pack."**

"Anyone who hurts my team like that deserves it," said Naruto. Sure it had made him a little queasy later, but he got over it simply by remembering the fact Kabuto had attempted to kill Kurama.

"**Agreed. Anyone who harms the pack deserves to pay the price. Now, onto another arrangement. I am willing to work with you in supply chakra and control (though you would have to actually work at it) in exchange for a little freedom on the outside."**

"...Would letting you loose in a Shadow Clone work? I mean those things are pretty much pure chakra and I generally spam them anyway, so no one would be able to know you hijacked one while I train. So long as you don't make it obvious that you're not a regular clone I have no objections."

"**...Definitely more reasonable than your mother. So, do we have an agreement?"**

"You supply chakra and help with my control, I let you run around in a clone so long as you don't get busted for it. Though I would like to know what happened to Kurama."

"**That? That was something your mother experimented with after she caught a Vulpix, but never successfully completed. Because the Ninetails is the closest to my own Summon Set, I can temporarily give them a power boost. However, because Kurama was raised by you from the egg after your coils were opened up to the fullest extent you can manage and was trained in close proximity, his boost became permanent. The fact he became a Shiny is just a way of marking that fact. It means that he can filter my chakra for you and negate most of the negative side-effects, but he won't get another leveling boost like the initial change. He's actually able to handle the strain better than your mother's Ninetails partner."**

"I get it. He was already influenced by your chakra from the egg when I first picked him, so the backlash wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. The amount of pain he was in was just for the initial change."

"**Exactly. While he can handle the effects, battling with him for at least three days is something I wouldn't recommend."**

"Good to know. So, are we settled then?"

"**Yes."**

And with that, Naruto woke up.


	15. Chapter 15

When Tsunade learned Naruto was a registered Breeder, she was the only one who didn't show any surprise.

"Your team is in perfect shape, and the only people who manage that are breeders. Though it is rare to find those who don't bother with chakra."

"My control is so shitty it's not worth mentioning. However I learned as much as I could from Hana-nee so my practical knowledge makes up for it. I can do anything baring surgery, and that's mostly cause the medic nin's didn't want me anywhere near them to teach me. Hana gave me the Deluxe Field Kit as a present for actually becoming a registered Breeder."

_**(A/N: In other words, Naruto is basically on the same level as a really good nurse, but not really qualified to do any in depth work like Sakura does in Shippuden. He's good enough to heal competently, but he won't suddenly whip up antidotes or do surgery on the spot. He doesn't have the training for it.)**_

Tsunade decided to quiz him on what he could do and was impressed. For someone who hated studying, the knucklehead got almost everything perfectly.

"It seems there is still hope for the village yet. I never would have expected an idiot like you to actually get those right," she admitted.

"It's mostly because I bring odd books into Iruka's history class that he never called me on. As long as it wasn't fiction, he didn't care if I ignored those lessons."

"Anyone else you can think of that you would like to recommend?" asked Tsunade amused.

"Hinata and Haku," he said immediately.

"Who?"

"Hinata Hyuga and Haku Momochi. Both of them are better than I am at healing, but I'm sure they could do even better if they had a really good teacher. Plus if it was the new Hokage teaching them, Hiashi wouldn't complain about Hinata becoming a medic," said Naruto.

"So basically you want me to one up the Hyuga clan elders?" asked Tsunade.

"Yup!"

"Now that I can agree with. But in the meantime, I'll be refining your technique and testing you to see exactly how bad your control is."

"Kyuubi agreed to help me with that since I let him run around with only a collar," said Naruto.

Jiraiya paused then and there. He had been ignoring the fact that the brat liked Tsunade and had more in common with her for the past hour or so, but hearing the fact that the Kyuubi was willing to work with him was news he couldn't ignore.

"You spoke to the Kyuubi?!"

"Yeah. He said I'm more reasonable than my mom, since I'm willing to give him a chance. He's the one who saved Kurama after all, so I figured that hearing him out wouldn't hurt."

"And?" said Jiraiya. No way was he letting that damn fox loose after he inadvertently killed Minato and Kushina.

Naruto smirked. It was probably a better idea for Jiraiya to find out first hand, plus he had a feeling Kyuubi needed to let off some steam. The Fox rumbled in agreement in his mind.

"Shadow Clone!"

With a poof, there was a red-eyed Naruto standing next to him stretching.

"**Finally, some fresh air! Even with the remodeling you did it still reeks like a sewer! Maybe now that head of yours will air out!" **complained Kyuubi. He took one look at Jiraiya and snorted.

"Kid, why did you give the fox free reign?" demanded Jiraiya.

"Because he earned a little leeway when he saved Kurama," said Naruto flatly.

"**The kid is more reasonable than his mother. And don't look at me like that you virgin Toad! I didn't attack Konoha out of choice, I was forced. You think I would stick around a village where the leader had the ability to seal me in again the minute I left his wife?" **said Kyuubi irritably.

Jiraiya's mouth open and shut repeatedly. He wasn't expecting _that _answer.

Tsunade instead asked a more important questions and did a little poking to see exactly how this hijacked clone worked. Kyuubi put up with it because he knew full well that if he didn't she wouldn't let him roam around the village scaring the locals for fun.

And when she heard from Naruto exactly how bad it had been until Shifter convinced them otherwise...well, she wasn't about to curtail his small amount of freedom just to pacify the civilians. At least he agreed to only deal psychological damage and no physical.

Still, he did object to Jiraiya trying to 'fix' the seal so he wouldn't be allowed out. The fact Naruto complained against it loudly only gave him more reason not to eat the annoying brat.

* * *

Naruto was getting water when he found the oddest looking Pokémon in his short life. It was a beautiful blue color, and it had the shape of diamonds along it's body. The mane was a deep purple color, and it had a white underbelly. It's tail was like twin ribbons that flowed to the front, and it had an odd symbol on it's forehead. The eyes were a deep violet color.

Naruto stared, unable to believe his eyes.

"_Suicune..." _he whispered in shock.

Where most of his class would attempt to capture it, Naruto instead looked at it in wonder. The Aurora Pokémon met his eyes for who knows how long before lightly touching him with it's right paw and bounding off.

"_**Kid...I think you were just blessed by the spirit of the North Wind."**_

"You sure Kyuubi?"

"_**The Legendary quit appearing to shinobi ever since they brought back the Pokémon after the Cataclysm. For one to appear at all is a sign. Fortunately Suicune is one who happens to like humans, so it's probably a good one. In any event, keep your eyes pealed."**_

"Thanks for the head's up Kyuubi."

"_**Your mind scape finally aired out. And you've been letting me out more than any of the others have. Let's just say you've earned a few brownie points with me and leave it at that."**_

"So what do you think this means?"

"_**We'll find out eventually. Arceus wouldn't have allowed a blessing to occur without reason."**_

* * *

Naruto was disappointed when he finally saw Whirlpool. Jiraiya had said it had been destroyed, but he hadn't thought it would be this bad. There wasn't a single building left standing.

As they all split up to explore the ruins (each taking a different corner, Naruto felt himself being pulled by a force he didn't recognize.

The only reason he followed it was because Kyuubi said it wasn't evil... in fact it felt like Suicune had, so it was possible that the Legendary Pokémon were guiding him.

Placing his faith in something he couldn't see, Naruto followed the tug all the way to a warehouse that was nearly collapsed. It was clear someone had attempted to raid it many times, but the bloodstains indicated no one had succeeded.

Looking inside, Naruto saw what they had attempted to steal.

It was an egg, deep black and crimson red in color. Naruto cautiously put a foot inside, ready to jump back in a heartbeat.

He felt a seal activate and a kunai lodge itself in his foot. There was a deep hum that he felt in his bones, and the seal turned off.

_What...the hell?_

_**Blood seal. Clearly an Uzumaki activated it and it stayed active until one of the blood came here.**_

Naruto stepped into the building, his foot already healed thanks to the fox. It hadn't been poisoned after all.

He picked up the egg and felt it warm up in his hands.

_What sort of Pokémon egg is this?_

_**Only one I know of that the Uzumaki had been researching was Zoroa. Mostly because they nearly went extinct. Ironically enough, Zoroa is a part of my summons set, though actually **_**getting ****_one is damn near impossible._**

_Huh...the tug is gone. I guess they wanted me to find this egg._

_**Probably want you to raise it. I'll even help you name it later.**_

Naruto proceeded to search the ruins with Kyuubi's help, as he remembered odd places that the Uzumaki generally placed seals on.

End result? Naruto had a lot of new toys and books to read.

Meanwhile, he was humming the 'Song of Lugia' while he looked around. When night fell, they set up camp in what was once the cave where Lugia was said to sleep.

* * *

In the spirit of where they were, Tsunade convinced Naruto to take out the odd flute shell of his and play the song.

_(Play flute song from Pokémon 2000 here...)_

Right as Naruto hit the last note, they could all feel something waking up.

Suddenly the air filled with a song that sounded almost exactly like Naruto's flute.

Naruto was the first to rush out of the cave, and what he saw had his staring in awe.

A great silver and blue dragon with giant wings and spiked tail. It's belly was a deep blue, and it was a bright pure silver color. It almost looked like a Lapras, only instead of ears, it had this bluish mask around the eyes.

It's cry almost sounded like a whale singing.

"**The song. The song has recalled me. But it alone cannot restore the balance that has been lost. The Cataclysm was a lesson, but many more must be learned before the world is fully healed."**

"You know what caused the earthquakes?" said Naruto.

The legendary Pokémon looked at him.

"**Before the Cataclysm, there was an organization which nearly took over the human world. Many tried to stop it, but in the end the world was nearly destroyed by the leader's greed. He willfully corrupted Pokémon, and even created one for power. So, in order to accomplish what the humans could not, Arceus charged those of great power to shake the world and remove all of the Pokémon. It forced the humans to adapt, and as a result the organization was destroyed completely."**

"What happened to the Pokémon that was created?" asked Naruto in concern. Jiraiya, Shizune and Tsunade watched on in shock from inside the cave.

"**Mewtwo was granted Legendary status by Arceus, but he does not love the humans for creating him."**

Finally Jiraiya spoke.

"Where did the tailed beasts come from?" he asked. The Pokémon looked at him.

"**Those you call the Bijuu were humanity's attempts to recreate Pokémon. However the Jubi was too powerful, so one man rose up and split ten into nine. The Kyuubi, for example, was based roughly off of a genetic offspring of Ninetails and Zoroark. Because they could not be controlled, the humans then selected people to act as containers, which you call Jinchuriki. We only brought back the Pokémon because of a single Pikachu, who pleaded on behalf of all those who trained and lived side by side with the humans."**

It looked at Naruto directly.

"**The egg you found in the warehouse is a test. Succeed, and you will find out more about who you are. Fail, and the world will fall."**

"How will I know when the test is over?"

"**Celebi will tell you. Train hard, and do not stop. We are always watching."**

The Pokémon sang again, this time it sounded _exactly_ like the song Naruto had taken to humming whenever bored. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized who this Pokémon was.

Lugia.

Two legendaries in two days...this couldn't be a coincidence.

"Kid, what the hell have you dragged us into this time?" said Jiraiaya when it was over.

"I have absolutely no fricken idea. At least we won't be bored!"

Tsunade's return was met with fanfare, well as much fanfare as a shinobi village still trying to restore their village could make.

Naturally Tsunade went to see the old man. He had barely survived his encounter with Orochimaru.

* * *

A week after Tsunade was declared the new Hokage, she called in four people to her office. Naruto, Hinata, Haku and surprisingly enough Sakura Haruno were called in.

"Alright, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you in here. Remember the test that the shinobi forces were given three days ago that was administered by the breeders?"

Naruto had an idea of where this was going, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Hinata nodded. It had been very odd.

"That was actually a test to see who had the potential to become medics. You four scored the highest in the quiz."

As one, everyone turned to look at Naruto in shock. Sakura in particular.

"How the hell did _Naruto_ of all people pass an exam on medical techniques?!"

"I have a lot of hobbies Haruno. And for your information I happen to be a level 3 registered breeder. The only reason no one knows about it is because no one ever asked, and I took the exam as a joke. I never expected to actually _pass_ with the second highest score next to Baa-chan here," said Naruto flatly.

Sakura rubbed her head, feeling a massive headache coming her way. It did not help that Anko had tossed her several medical books and told her flatly she wasn't allowed to even _think_ of Sasuke Uchiha after the piss poor showing at the Ranking Exam until she could repeat the books word for word while being attacked by poisonous snakes.

Sakura officially hated snakes as much as she did Tora.

At least Kiba and Shino got a break in training, as Anko put them through elemental affinities before booting them to two different teachers while she worked with Sakura.

Shino was still quietly cursing out Might Gai and Rock Lee. Kiba was just pissed that Anko had gotten Hana to teach him how to heal Akamaru and Growler as well as improve their combo attacks.

So after she took the test, she looked at the top scorer and learned it was Tsunade. She never noticed the name on the bottom, thinking it had been a typo at the time.

"In any case, since you four are the best of the current crop of genin and chunin as medics, I want to offer you the chance to learn from me and Shizune. Something tells me things are going to get worse very soon, and we'll need all the help we can get. An experienced healer is a commodity that is always in short supply during war times," said Tsunade.

"I'm in. You'll probably teach me more than the damn pervert, and this is something I know I can do without people trying to screw me over," said Naruto.

"Count me in," said Hinata quietly. She always wanted to be a medic, and her family couldn't complain if the new Hokage was teaching her! And the woman was from a clan more famous than the Hyuga!

"I'm in as well. While the medics in the hospital are good, they are not your level. And I've always had a passion for the healing arts," said Haku.

"Just one question. If I agree to this do I still have to train with Anko?" asked Sakura.

"No. You'll be under my command except for missions," said Tsunade.

"No more snake bitch? Where do I sign?" said Sakura.

Tsunade looked at all of them and saw their resolve. Naruto she knew was a good medic, he just needed help. And he wouldn't recommend anyone he didn't trust.

"In that case, meet me at Training ground 54 in two days at eight."

That would give her time to warm up.

Naruto looked at Sakura before he left and chuckled darkly.

"Oh Haruno, you have no idea what hell you've just signed yourself up for. Maybe now you'll actually act like a kunoichi instead of cannon fodder," he said with a smirk. Hinata and Haku coughed suspiciously.


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto's egg hatched a month after Tsunade was elected Hokage. He had kept it with him in a special sack the entire time, and he wasn't the only one carrying a new egg.

All three of those chosen by Tsunade to learn healing had a new egg, courtesy of the breeders.

Sakura's was, of course, bright pink. Hinata had a light red, white and lime green egg. Haku had a blue, red and light yellow egg.

After Naruto, each of their eggs hatched one after the other.

Sakura had an Igglybuff, Hinata a Ralts, and Haku (much to the amusement of Zabuza) had a Totodile.

The only reason Haku hadn't trained the crocodile to attack Zabuza's porn yet was because he was training Hitomi's Ice Fang attack.

Well that and Naruto had Shifter train Hitomi in her bite attack with Jiraiya as the target. Tsunade was too busy laughing her ass off because the pervert got bit while spying on the girl's half of the bathhouse. Well, that and Naruto recommended a store that sold the toys he got Shifter and they gave Haku a discount on bulk buys. Hitomi would soon have a jaw strength to be feared, by the time she hit her finally evolutionary stage.

Needless to say Hitomi got along with the excitable Naruto.

Everyone was staring at little Naru though. It was rare to see an actual Zoroa (who, much to Naruto's amusement, took to his Sexy Jutsu like a duck to water) and for one to train with them.

Haku would have brought his Togepi Kiri-chan (who for some reason seemed to like using the Mist attack and spent far too much time around Zabuza) but Tsunade told him that all new medics got a new egg, who would become their personal partner when it came to learning medical jutsu and techniques. Hers had been Zel.

And Naruto had the choice of either using the Zoroa egg or the Dratini egg Anko had set aside for him. All he had to do was claim it.

Their first exercise was teamwork, which involved two of them (usually Haku and Sakura or Hinata and Naruto) calling out attacks before Tsunade hit them with small boulders.

Needless to say they learned to dodge really, really quickly.

It was only after she got their physical condition up to her standards that she trained them in chakra control. Naruto needed the most help, but with the Kyuubi not fighting him and even controlling the output to a point, it was better than it could have been. Because of his massive reserves, Naruto had trouble controlling it.

Finally Tsunade had a breakthrough, and taught him how to do the same healing tricks she was teaching the others...without chakra at all. Instead he worked with his Pokémon, and he started to develop his own methods. Shifter in his Espeon form was particularly good at this.

It quickly became clear that out of the four, Naruto had the most practical experience, outdoing even Haku who had been trained by Zabuza.

Then again, he had to learn the hard way thanks to the mobs that had finally stopped. Plus he had to learn how to heal Shifter when people kicked him too hard.

So Tsunade had Naruto teach the girls the basics, while she worked with Haku and his senbon. She often left him with Shizune while the girls worked on their animals and she worked with Naruto with his chakra control and basic healing skills.

* * *

By the time they were finally cleared to go on another mission, Naruto had started to carry a bag along with his usual travel gear. There was quite a bit of staring from his friends when they realized he had a breeder's badge on his collar when he was quite clear that he wanted to stay a trainer.

Because he had been promoted to Chunin, Naruto was the secondary leader of the group. Much to his displeasure, Kakashi was the primary because he had been there before and had a basic idea of what would happen.

"Uzumaki, before you head to the meeting point, I have something you've been waiting for," said Tsunade.

Naruto paused before he left the room. She tossed him an old book that had been cared for. Naruto could just barely translate the title.

"Practice before you come back and we'll have a small concert for your friends. And I'll have some of the other teams clean up your new house and move your things in."

Naruto had, when he returned from the mission, gone to the old Hokage and asked for help in finding a new place to live since his apartment was getting very crowded. Sarutobi had decided to give Naruto part of his inheritance early, since he had managed to become Chunin.

So now Naruto was moving into his parent's house before the attack, which had been left under Sarutobi's care until he was old enough or chunin. It had a large yard and was close to the Inuzuka compound. It also had a large stream going through it into a medium sized pond.

Advil had jumped into that pond and stayed there. So Naruto was leaving him behind for this mission. Kiseki would be guarding the house from people who weren't allowed in, so the only Pokémon he would have on him were Shifter, Naru, Kurama and Croaker, since Jiraiya wanted some peace while Naruto was gone. Once Naruto was old enough he was handing over his Pokéballs to the boy and leaving them with him. He would start fresh, since none of his team trusted him as a partner anymore.

There was also the egg that Chouji's father gave Naruto since he had gone into the compound after coming back and finally won the bet he made with Chouji years ago. Once it hatched he would have a Munchlax on his team, which he planned to name Teuchi or Ayame depending on the gender.

He just couldn't wait to see Kakashi's reaction to Haku's hatred of _Icha Icha._ Haku had gotten really good at stealing porn from under his master's nose, to the fury of Zabuza. Kakashi's books wouldn't last with him around.

Well, that and Sasuke had taught them all the Grand Fireball Technique since he hated perverts as much as Naruto did. If Kakashi tried to read it around them, his books were toast.

Their mission?

Escort a group to the Land of Snow. Their client?

The famous princess from the most popular movie series in the Elemental Countries.

Naruto couldn't help but feel things would go to hell from the start, so he convinced Haku to pack extra supplies, using the sealing knowledge Jiraiya showed him (after the man bitched for three hours about the fact that Naruto liked Tsunade more than he did the Great Toad Sage) to store even more medical supplies into certain spots.

* * *

Haku was watching with something akin to awe as Naruto proceeded to annoy the entire front row by landing sticky candy down their shirt collars. It wasn't until the end of the movie that someone finally looked up and spotted the kid with the candy, and put two and two together.

They had to high tail it out of there pretty quick after that. Thank Kami for shadow clones...

Naruto was playing his leaf whistle all the way to the boat as Kakashi carried the actress. She had put up a fight, but Shifter hadn't been happy with the mace she shot into Naruto's eyes, so he used Hypnosis on her immediately after.

Kakashi was curious as to how Naruto was so good at the leaf whistle.

Then he thought back to Naruto's mother, and figured he got it from her. Kushina had a weird musical ability that allowed her to become passable at any musical instrument she got her hands on, and it would only get better with practice.

Suddenly Naruto paused, as if he heard something, before playing a song Kakashi had never heard before. It was wild, fierce and playful.

"What's that?"

Naruto paused and signed back using ANBU code (one of the books he had gotten from Anko): _"Ninetails Blitz. Fox made request."_

Now that he was paying attention, it did bring to mind the sight of Kurama playing around with Yume and Shifter. Must be a fox thing.

"So you talk to it now?" said Kakashi.

"Him. And if you have questions just ask him directly. I made a deal with him so he could walk around so long as the fallout doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. In exchange he helps me with my control and powers me up when I need it. Plus my memory's a lot better now, and I find reading doesn't give me migraines anymore."

"...You let him out?"

Naruto made a single clone, and the 'clone' yawned.

"**Relax Scarecrow. As long as I'm allowed to wander around, I won't cause problems. Just don't aim that damn thief eye at me, and I won't rip your head off. By the way kit, the note was E flat, not B flat."**

"Sorry. Want me to try again?"

"**You won't improve without help, and luckily for you I remember most of what your mother used to sing before that night. We can practice between your medic training with Haku. Your control should be good enough for a scalpel that won't kill your patients." **

Kakashi stared, as he compared the two.

Where Naruto had sapphire blue eyes, Kyuubi had crimson red. His hair was spikier than normal, and he was about an inch or two taller. His 'whisker' marks were deepened, and you could feel the undercurrent of power in Kyuubi's clone.

Well that and the Kyuubi clone was reading one of Naruto's pre-Cataclysm books while walking and not crashing into anything, which even Naruto had trouble doing.

At least Naruto had finally gotten an answer for why the earthquakes that devastated the world had even happened. He had solved one of the greatest mysteries in the Shinobi world.

He was still raking in the cash from publishing that one, though he had Hinata and Sasuke proofread for him. They had better handwriting and much better grammar than he did.

(a/n: GRAMMAR NAZIS CAN BITE ME! BE GLAD I KNOW HOW TO SPELL!)

The end result was that Naruto was easily more rich than Jiraiya at this point, since he had read so many of the books on the world before the Cataclysm that he was considered the leading expert in Konoha. Iruka had already brought him in during the three month period he was training with Tsunade to act as the history teacher for that subject, and the grades had shot up. He had impressed more than one person after that.

"So has Ino gotten over her Gossip Queen mode yet or do we have to wait until the shock wears off?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru had begged Naruto to take Ino with them so he could get some piece, and it had only taken Naruto a full minute to come up with the best excuse to bring her...in exchange for Shikamaru and Chouji taking care of his garden for him. Being around Ino so much they must have picked up something.

Ino could find and get rare plants from Snow that they could cultivate at home, with Naruto supplying the greenhouse since Shifter could keep it cold and because Naruto had experience raising difficult plants.

He had trouble keeping the mixtures in medicine straight, but Tsunade had cleared him to help interning at the hospital so long as he wasn't required to use chakra based techniques. The fact his shadow clones could cover more than one patient was actually a blessing more than a curse, and since they had the chakra of a jounin with chunin-level control, they could use minor chakra-based techniques while the original couldn't.

Needless to say those who knew his parents were surprised that he went the medic route as a hobby. He was still the heavy-hitter type in a battle, but at least any team he was on had the benefit of an experienced field medic as a bonus.

Plus his seals were top notch, so he always had plenty of supplies, even if it was a bitch to budget for the ones he used a lot.

All in all, the four man team was ready for nearly anything, not including the Pokémon they had on them.

Though Kakashi was asking Naruto for some advice on Minato (his Jolteon) since the spiked dog was nearly impossible to work with when pissed. And it got pissed real easy when around Shifter.

So Naruto let Kakashi borrow Shifter while he worked with Minato. The Jolteon was less than pleased to see him, after the beating he got from Shifter...

* * *

Hinata was in a bit of a bind. While her Riolu had evolved into Lucario (and had taken to the Gentle Fist fighting style like a Kiri nin to water) her father had been spending more time with her cousin Neji and her sister. Normally this would be a good thing, except the Hyuuga Elders weren't very pleased she had taken up medic training since they viewed the practice as beneath them despite the fact it was Tsunade herself who was training her.

Fortunately for her (and unfortunately for the Elders) Hinata had mastered the super-strength attack of that Tsunade was famous for.

The end result was that quite a few of those who wanted to slap a Caged Bird Seal on her for being 'weak' were in intensive care after the ass kicking she gave them. Tsunade wasn't the only one laughing at the way they shit themselves because Hinata tended to be their nurse...or the gleam the girl had in her eye while tending to them...

* * *

Naruto cocked his head when he heard the scream.

"Little Miss Priss finally woke up," he said.

Haku, Ino and Kakashi heard the actress screaming in rage.

Ino couldn't believe what a bitch Koyuki was. Still, she did get a _ton_ of autographs. So she was happy.


	17. Chapter 17

"Land Ho!" cried one of the new look outs. When they got closer, it quickly became apparent that the 'land' wasn't land at all, but a Pokémon that was in extreme pain. It was massive, easily big enough to mistake as land. And from what Naruto could tell, it had run afoul of something with a lot of sharp teeth...possibly a Shark.

Naruto immediately had Haku create a small island of ice with Koori, Shifter and his bloodline so he could have a place to work on the injured Pokémon. It sounded like it was in great pain.

He didn't pay any mind to the ship, which had stopped the second he had jumped off and water walked to the new platform created by the three. His hands flew through the signs for the Mystic Palm technique and he gently touched the wound.

It wasn't big, but it was definitely infected at least. Something had taken a deep enough chunk out of it that it got past the blubber.

"Naru, I need ten CC's of Water-type antibiotics, stat!"

The Zoroa jumped and turned into Naruto's female form (primarily for pranks, but for some reason it was easier than turning into Naruto as himself) with a whirl as she looked into his bag for the medicine.

This was part of her training, locating and handing the correct medicine on command. It had taken a lot of effort from Tsunade and Shifter, but eventually she got it right.

Naruto drew the required amount, and plunged it into the skin. The needle was just long enough to get through the buoyant fat layer, which was dangerously thin because of the infection.

Once that was done, he went to work cleaning the wound manually and applying an anesthetic while he put on a water-proof bandage that would fall off naturally when the wound healed up.

It was packed into the gouged out part so that when it healed up, the packing would fall off and be eaten by other Pokémon. Naruto prided himself on all-natural healing remedies that didn't hurt wild Pokémon when they fell off.

Five hours later, he got up and gently patted the female Pokémon. He didn't know what type it was, but he could tell it was a deep-sea denizen...and that it was clearly a whale of sorts.

"The platform should disappear in an hour. Eat a lot and stay away from the predators, and you should be good as new," said Naruto. Shifter translated to insure the Pokémon understood.

The whale sang in thanks, and Naruto walked back to the ship. He had been completely unaware of the fact that the director had filmed him saving the Pokémon.

Ino was stunned.

"Wow Ramen-breath, I didn't know you were so good at healing without chakra!"

"Of course I am! You think I'd let those jerks at the hospital treat him when they kick me out even with a broken bone? Hana-nee taught me a lot, and I took the breeder exam years ago!" snorted Naruto.

Suddenly he looked up.

"Huh, Hoppip season again," he said.

"What?" said Ino. Naruto pointed up.

Sure enough, an entire group of Hoppip, Skiploom and Jumpluff were floating above the ship. Ino withheld her squeal of delight, because she had always wanted to catch one.

She vaguely noticed the sound of a leaf whistle, and suddenly a few drifted down.

She turned to find Naruto playing a catchy tune that reminded her of a breeze in spring. One of the Hoppip even landed on Naruto's head.

A few seemed content to rest on the boat while the others drifted around it.

"If you want to have one on your team, you can use now to convince one to join you," said Naruto pleasantly.

Ino beamed at him. Perhaps Naruto wasn't as bad as the women who frequented her family's flower shop claimed.

* * *

By the time they ran into the mystery glacier (which Naruto could tell in a heartbeat wasn't natural in the least, due to lack of Ice-types running around) Ino and her new Hoppip (which seemed to favor resting on her head for some reason) were yawning after coming off guard duty that night.

Naruto sent her back to bed, knowing that Ino was still a fan girl and sleep deprivation would make her useless.

Besides, this meant that the enemy wouldn't know they had an extra member. Kakashi agreed to his reasoning, once Naruto explained.

As it turned out, this had been a smart plan. There were only three people there, which meant they all had someone to fight.

Koyuki fainted at the first sign of fire, so Naruto had his clones all retrieve her while Croaker and Naru covered them.

Kurama was currently teaming up with Shifter to deal with the big guy on the board while Haku dealt with the...more endowed and talented...look alike of Sakura Haruno.

(Back in Konoha Sakura got the sudden urge to kill Naruto and Haku. She was promptly skewered by Anko for not paying attention.)

Kakashi had his hands full with the leader. At least this time Minato was willing to actually _listen_ to his commands after Naruto had somehow gotten through to him. That was a good thing because his enemy had a very well-trained Froslass trying to freeze him to death.

He was already very unhappy with the fact his boxers were now frozen to his balls. It was a miracle they had yet to shrivel up with how cold they were.

Finally he copied a giant whale with a horn (noticeably different from the one Naruto saved two days prior, probably because that had been a Pokémon and this was more like an oversized Narwhal) and the two were sent crashing in a way that the fake island was completely ruined.

He hoped the jerk got pneumonia or better yet died from hypothermia from the water...

* * *

Kakashi was sneezing all the way to port, while Naruto laughed his ass off when he learned that Kakashi's opponent had literally frozen his balls to his boxers. Kakashi was vindicated when Haku had enough of the boy's mocking to use his bloodline to show Naruto exactly what that felt like.

Kakashi did note that while Ino yelled at him for being crude she never actually hit Naruto like he had seen Haruno do on occasion. Clearly Ino knew that violence wasn't always the answer to idiot comrades...yelling, on the other hand, was acceptable so long as you weren't too cruel.

Probably why Naruto helped her to find some rare poisonous plants...and one poor Gloom that was freezing and harassing the sailors at port. Ino took pity on it, despite already having one on her team and kept it. She called it Frostflower, seeing as how she had gotten it in Snow country.

Her first Oddish had recently been evolved into a Bellossom thanks to Naruto giving her a hard to find Sunstone he picked up somewhere. She wisely didn't ask how he got it or where, but she did thank him.

She had been saving up for months to buy one once her Gloom hit level thirty, and she finally got it there. At the very least it put him on the same level as Chouji in her totem of friends.

It was a sad day indeed when Naruto ranked higher than her former best friend. Sakura was nice and all, but Ino quickly found that Hinata and Tenten were better girl pals, even if their taste in boys were completely different.

Well, that and Naruto had enlisted the aid of the only girls he was comfortable around to help Naru perfect her transformation and acting. Ino had taken it upon herself to get the tiny fox addicted to fashion...and in the process managed to get Naruto a completely new wardrobe with much less orange.

She was still impressed with his ability to play music. After the third song the director heard played by Naruto on his new flute that Haku had given him before they boarded the boat, he had gotten the blond to play the musical accompaniment for some extra ryo. He got to read the script before Ino, and once he had the tone right, it made things more interesting...and kept Naruto from being bored which was always a dangerous thing.

While they guarded the coach that they would be traveling in, Ino quizzed Haku and Naruto on medicinal plant combinations so they could hopefully pass on her interest as a poison specialist to Anko, who was one of the best.

Naruto had agreed to it because even though he was an excellent gardener when it came to most plants (like fruits, vegetables, and a few minor medicinal plants like aloe) he had trouble mixing them in a way that didn't make the patient sicker than before.

Fortunately, Ino was an excellent teacher when it came to plants and mixtures, probably because it was one of the few things she could agree on with Naruto...aside from his musical ability which had taken her completely by surprise.

* * *

"Koyuki-hime has run away... Again!" said one of the other actors.

"Dammit...this is the fifth time. Kakashi, Ino, you stay here with the rest while Haku and I locate little miss priss...again..." said Naruto.

The first time he had done this, Kakashi had disagreed with him...right up until he realized what Naruto had done. Because of all his training with the Inuzuka with Shifter, his sense of smell was at _least_ on par with one of the lesser members of the clan. All he had to do was spam his clones while Haku kept a look out for him and when he located Koyuki (she wore a strong perfume and didn't seem to pick up that the blond had the same sense of smell as a dog) he had his clone pop while the rest converged on her and retrieved her. Haku would escort the two back to base camp.

Since Kakashi was one of the strongest members of the team (next to Naruto with his ungodly amount of chakra and a pissy Kyuubi-possessed clone) Naruto knew he could trust Kakashi to watch the actual client, who happened to be Koyuki's main helper Sandaiyu.

Since _he_ was the one paying for the mission, that meant they had to make _his_ safety a priority as well. Kakashi had bowed to his argument, seeing as how Ino would need the extra back up considering she was the weakest of their group.

She just barely ranked above Sakura strength wise...

"Why do you keep finding me?" asked Koyuki. This was the seventh time she had run off.

"One, you wear absurdly strong perfume. Two, Haku is in his element here, seeing as he has the Hyoton bloodline and actually knows how to use it decently. And three, your damn manager was the one who hired us lady, and I never give up on a client when I'm hired."

"That's true. The first time I met him he had been hired on an under-ranked mission and he narrowly saved both me and my master while protecting his client."

"How bad is an under-ranked mission?" asked Koyuki, somewhat curious.

"We were only supposed to deal with bandits, not an overcompensating swordsman, a tranny apprentice and two idiots who barely pass as cannon-fodder," said Naruto flatly.

"...Just for that tranny comment I am freezing your sheets until this Dotou character is dealt with," said Haku flatly.

Naruto paused, handed the bitchy actress to a clone, then henged into the most adorable blond child with extremely sad puppy eyes Haku had ever seen. He twitched, and Koyuki was trying not to burst into giggles at the sight of this.

"Haku-nii...you wouldn't freeze my sheets, would you?" said Naruto, eyes started to brim with tears.

"GAH! Alright already! Just knock it off with the henge!" said Haku, submitting to the kawaii sight of a chibi Naruto.

He may be a guy, but in reality he acted more like a girl when confronted by adorable things. Hell, even Ino would want to glomp Naruto, especially when he busts out fox ears and a very adorable tail. He looked like a little fox!

An idea came to Haku. It was spiteful and cruel, but he would still have his revenge for that tranny comment.

"I double fox dare you to turn into this again, only with fox ears and tail in front of Ino."

"Why?"

"Blackmail pictures. Can you imagine how embarrassed she would be seen hugging you when she's a Sasuke fan girl?"

"Sold!"

Oh course that was nothing to what Hinata would do next time they trained with Tsunade if she believed he was becoming a playboy who didn't notice her...

Haku resisted the urge to cackle...payback would be slow and painful.

They missed the group, so they went through the icy tunnels where they were most likely waiting. Everything was normal...right up until the point that the rails thawed out without warning and the sound of a train could be heard behind them.

"Shit! It sounds like they are bringing a train in! Naruto, haul ass!" yelled Haku. Naruto's eyes widened, and he deactivated his weights before creating a second clone and grabbing Haku. Speed demon or not, there wasn't a chance in hell his surrogate older brother could out run a damn train, even with his ice mirrors.

They sped out of there so fast that even Gai would be envious. They were out a good two minutes before the train was. That was all the time Haku needed when he realized that Sandaiyuu had somehow gotten his samurai buddies to make a charge on what was obviously a shinobi-made train. Which meant that bulky thing _had_ to have a massive kunai launcher at the very least.

Which was why he made a giant ice wall with the help of Koori, Shifter and Hitomi, who had figured out Ice Beam thanks to the first two and being around Haku when he was using Hyoton a lot.

It would be odd if a Water-type Pokémon didn't pick up a few ice moves when being around that a lot.

Too bad Kakashi had gotten better at protecting his precious porn.

_Flashback..._

Haku spotted a familiar orange cover and twitched. Not even two days at sea, and Kakashi was reading that damn porn. It wasn't even good porn!

Naruto spotted his look and grinned.

"You grab it, I threaten to burn it. Sasuke taught me this Katon that would be_ perfect_ for that damn book."

"What are we doing?" asked Ino.

Naruto nodded towards the book.

"Kakashi. Prank. Poorly written pornographic novel that demeans females everywhere. Turned to ash," he said.

"Huh?"

"I'm going to steal Kakashi's poorly written porn book and Naruto will burn it. It's trashy, full of errors, and there is a very good reason why most kunoichi hate it on sight, even without the author around. The man tends to hang around the bath houses and peeks on women while they're trying to relax."

"Oh. Count me in then. If you don't burn it I can still lace it with enough itching powder that will make his hands burn and won't go away for five hours," said Ino grinning. Come to think of it, she had seen her father reading those books too...hmmm.

Haku smirked as he created a pair of ice mirrors and proceeded to steal the book. Naruto handed it to Ino who laced it with the itching powder in case Kakashi got it back before Naruto could burn it. Kami knows Kakashi had to have spares.

"Now don't be hasty..." said Kakashi. Naruto had bought a lighter as a secondary way to burn the porn. And with how old the book was and the numerous times Kakashi (ahem) read it, chances were high it would go up in flames.

"Kakashi, either quit reading your porn on duty, or it gets turned to ash. Also, you may as well help us refine our jutsu library, since you are the man who copied a thousand jutsu. Unless you want Haku to steal this again so we can burn it," said Naruto evilly. His team was grinning evilly, particularly Croaker.

Jiraiya's first partner really didn't like his books. He had learned Fire Punch solely to destroy them.

Kakashi's lone visible eye was actually crying.

"Alright, alright! Tell me what your element is and I'll give you some jutsu to practice with! Just leave my porn alone!" said Kakashi weeping. His poor books...

Naruto smirked.

"That's what we wanted to hear. Right guys?" said the blond evilly. Ino and Haku snickered.

It would be six hours before the powder wore off, and it only took the threat of a repeat performance for Kakashi to keep his word. Too bad Ino was an Earth and Fire type...she couldn't practice the new jutsu at all...


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto took one look at the massive blimp and had to comment. It was in his nature to be a smart ass.

"Yeesh, I thought the train was bad enough, but this guy is overcompensating big time!"

Koyuki choked back a laugh. Ino resisted the urge to slap Naruto. Suddenly he went to his backpack which was wiggling around.

"Lax!" cried the newly hatched baby Pokémon.

"Cool! Let's see...you're a girl, so your name is Ayame!" said Naruto. The newly named Ayame yawned...and then reached into Naruto's bag to start munching on one of his ration bars. It made a face once the taste hit.

"I'll make you some ramen later," Naruto promised it.

"Lax."

Koyuki yelped when a hook grabbed her by the stomach and hauled her up to the blimp. Naruto was quick to grab her leg, as he left Shifter with Haku on the ground.

"VEE!" cried Shifter. He didn't like to be separate from Naruto. Haku hugged him tightly.

* * *

"Hehehe...look what we have here boys? A little rat caught in our trap. You shouldn't have held on brat," sneered one of the Snow ninja. Koyuki was in the cell across from his. Ayame had hidden inside a spare seal ball which, once Naruto had a chance to hide long enough (he knew better than to try and rescue Koyuki...they obviously needed her for something so they wouldn't kill her yet), he sealed away in a hidden spot on his body.

One of the things Jiraiya taught him was how to place seals on yourself though that was extremely dangerous to do. If cut there the blood could wreck the seal and you would have to prepare and use a special seal just to retrieve the items...and Jiraiya wasn't very good at those.

Out of his entire team, Naruto was only missing Shifter...and the separation was just as painful for him as it was for his best friend.

Koyuki watched as he grabbed something from his shoe to cut through the steel chains holding him up. He couldn't call any of his Pokémon because he didn't want the Snow idiots to know they were still on him. He was called the most Unpredictable Shinobi of Konoha for a reason after all.

"Why do you fight?" she asked.

"Shifter is my partner for a reason. When I first found him, he had just escaped some hidden lab that had experimented on him horribly. It took years for him to trust Hana-nee, who is the village vet when she had needles around him. We depend on each other for emotional support, because until he showed up I had no one. No parents, no friends...and the entire village hated me for circumstances outside my control. I had mobs chasing after me every year on my birthday, which unfortunately coincides with the Kyuubi Festival. With my whisker-like birthmarks you can see how that turned out. I fight so that neither of us has to go through the pain of loneliness ever again."

Koyuki was properly horrified. Chased on your birthday because of a few birthmarks? No one to support him until recently? No wonder the kid was screwed up in the head and starved for attention. It was a miracle he was still so cheerful after all that.

"Got it!" said Naruto. The Snow shinobi showed up soon after he broke the chains, and he knocked them out cold. It was easier to break the lock on Koyuki's cell than pick it.

Once out, Naruto used his nose to smell the quickest route out. Only to come face to face with two Snow shinobi, one of whom reeked of dogs and the other of poisons...wait a minute!

"Where's Haku?" he asked.

"With the others. He's their best bet against any sneak attacks," said Kakashi.

"How the hell did you know it was us?" said Ino.

Naruto tapped his nose.

"Kakashi reeks of dogs, lightning and shame. You smell of poison, plants that are extremely hard to find in northern climates, and summer."

"We really need to get you to work with an Inuzuka," said Kakashi sweatdropping.

"Who did you think got it so high in the first place?" said Naruto rhetorically.

The four made their way outside, following Naruto who could smell it. Kakashi noted Naruto's agitated state as he kept reflexively looking for Shifter next to him out of pure habit. Kakashi had seen such reactions before...in Chunin who were often partnered together for so long that they had become attuned to the other to the point that they didn't need to signal, they instinctively moved as one. Izumo and Kotetsu were a very good example of such a partnership.

* * *

Kakashi tried not to sigh... if only Team 7 had been that good before Kurenai had gotten him blacklisted from the roster he might still have a team. He had told Sarutobi that he didn't want to be an instructor...the memories of Minato were still too fresh after fourteen years. He was messed up in the head after Minato died and he had to kill Rin to save Naruto, and he knew it.

It was the reason why he had never pursued a relationship with anyone. He didn't dare try. Seeing the way Naruto acted around Shifter gave him hope...and the possibility that he could trust his Pokémon to be there for him like Naruto's team was there for him through thick or thin.

* * *

Ino followed Naruto without hesitation...though her mind was full of thoughts.

How had Naruto gotten so good? Why did most of the village hate him and curse him behind his back to the point that they would actively kick him out of stores? She had seen him in their shop a few times before, and it was only her father that kept her mother from throwing him out initially.

Ino suspected that was why Naruto had gardening as a hobby...it was one of the few stores that let him in and didn't try to overcharge him.

Being on a team with him...she came to realize that Naruto was a lot like Chouji. And the way he saved that Wailord showed her that he had lot of hidden talents. Plus there was the fact that instead of trying to catch a Gloom, he gave it to her instead. He even helped her to catch a Hoppip, which she had always wanted to get!

He wasn't the dead last everyone assumed. And she was beginning to think that maybe...out of those who passed the secondary genin exam, that her former best friend Sakura was the dead last of the group. She had only started to act like a shinobi because she had passed that random test Tsunade had given out to find some decent medic ninja.

Even so, this serious Naruto had caught her completely by surprise...yet she never considered not listening to the blond at all. This wasn't prankster Naruto, the goofy kid she was used to. This was Trainer Naruto, and he was more serious.

She couldn't wait for this mission to be over so she could talk to Naruto about improving her Pokémon training so that they could be better as a team.

* * *

Naruto nearly cried with relief when they ran into Haku outside and Shifter nearly tackled him to the ground. It was clear that the Eevee had missed him just as much as Naruto had felt the pang of him being gone.

Kakashi almost wondered if Naruto had followed his Pokémon right out to the closest exit just so they could be reunited. It was pretty obvious to everyone that the two were the perfect partners.

"So, Koyuki-hime, what is Dotou after?" asked Naruto.

"He's after the Rainbow Glaciers...or whatever is hidden up there. My father spent a lot of money on something there, and he left me this crystal," said Koyuki, pulling up her necklace.

"Right... I say we take the Glacier before he does. And we get rid of him once and for all," said Naruto.

"Agreed. That guy must die," said Ino venomously.

"I suppose we have no choice. In order to insure Koyuki-hime becomes Queen, we must take out her uncle. This wasn't what I signed up for," sighed Kakashi.

* * *

Ino looked at the Sakura lookalike with trepidation. This woman could fly and she couldn't. However, Ino wasn't a slouch like Sakura. When she wasn't training in her family arts, she was learning how to make new poisons. She grinned and called out her strongest Pokémon.

"Bellossom, Magical Leaf! Cover her in pollen!" Ino called out.

"Bell!" cried the grass type. The air filled with pollen covered leafs that glowed like rainbows.

"Snorunt, use Blizzard! Keep those leaves away from me!" cried the pink haired Kunoichi.

It was already too late. Magical Leaf had covered the area with poison, and it was one of those attacks that couldn't miss if used.

The kunoichi started to cough, blood filling her lungs. The pollen Ino had thrown to her Bellossom was one that was deadly if inhaled. The only reason they were immune was because they had worked on it extensively and had built up a tolerance for it.

Plus Ino had the antidote.

The Snorunt wasn't doing much better. This was a potent poison that harmed Pokémon too, though the survival rate was considerably higher.

Plus Ino had the assumption Naruto wouldn't take it too well if she killed a Pokémon on a mission he was supposed to be leading.

* * *

Haku was having fun. This was the first time he could go completely wild in battle. While his reserves were decent enough, it took far too much chakra to use his ice techniques in Konoha for his liking.

Here, however, he had an instinctive grasp of the landscape.

"DAMMIT STAY STILL!" roared the snowboarder.

"Go to hell," smirked Haku.

Haku raised his hand, and ice mirrors appeared all around them.

"Prepare to be locked in an icy grave forever. Icicle Storm!"

The mirrors turned into spiked coffins, and they closed in on the snowboarder. He was skewered in so many places that it would be a miracle for him to survive the blood loss alone. He looked like a piece of swiss cheese with how many holes he had.

He never had a chance to bring out his team.

Hitomi was dancing next to Haku. Here was proof that her partner was strong.

* * *

Naruto was with Naru, and they had tracked Koyuki to the Rainbow Glaciers when Dotou had grabbed them while in flight. Naruto was glad once again for the strong perfume Koyuki favored. It made tracking her child's play for his nose.

"Naru, I want you to videotape this fight. Whatever you do, try not to get hit by debris. Croaker will guard you just in case, since he is the senior fighter," said Naruto.

Naru (who was in Naruko form, as Anko had once called Naruto's sexy jutsu form) nodded.

"You got it Aniki!" said Naru. She could talk in human form better than she could in her true form.

Naruto ran down the glacier and waited for his moment to shine. Above all else, he planned to make this flashy as hell.

(It's more or less how it goes in the movie...I am not repeating that here, so go rent it or buy it.)

* * *

Naruto woke up in a room he didn't recognize, with all his Pokémon around him.

They mobbed him the moment he woke up.

"About time you woke up Ramen breath," said Ino smugly.

"Ow... How long was I out?"

"A day or two. Koyuki recently took control, and she's looking for a way to pacify the Snow Ninja about the fact she won't be using them to declare war on everyone," said Haku.

"Hmm. How long has it been since there was a ranking exam?" said Naruto?"

"Dotou didn't allow anyone under chunin to take part in one, so quite a while. Why?" asked Haku.

"I have an idea. One that hasn't been around for a while," said Naruto grinning.

"Pokémon Contests? What on earth are those?" asked Koyuki.

"They are an alternate way to relieve some of the pent up energy trainers, rangers and breeders have. It doesn't really require beating the hell out of the other team, but rather impressing a series of judges on how good they can make their attacks," said Naruto.

He unsealed a book on the old ways before the Cataclysm.

"Chapter 10, Pokémon Contests. I think this would be Ino's cup of tea," said Naruto reading the book.

Ino took the book from his hand, and her eyes widened.

"Oh this is perfect! It's like a fashion show for Pokémon and their partners! The better their moves look, the higher their score!" said Ino. She handed the book to the new Daimyo of Snow, and Koyuki's grin widened the more she read.

This would be perfect to diffuse the issues she was having. Plus it would put her in the good graces of the genin and the Snow Village elders.

"Who's going to be the announcer?" asked Koyuki.

As one, the team pointed at Ino.

"I would have assumed Naruto would want the job," she said amused.

"Not on your life. I'm going to be on the panel of judges and on the side healing anyone who screws up. You can tell the Elders that you plan to promote the old Contests in an effort to one up the major villages. I know for a fact none of them have even heard of this sort of thing before, and it will appeal to the civilians greatly," said Naruto.

"True... Civvies never really get to see anything _other _than battles when it comes to trainers and the like. This is a relatively non violent way to appeal to people," said Kakashi.

Koyuki grinned.

"And I bet we could add this to the film to promote it further. Once it hits DVD we'll send a copy to each of you since it was part of the payment Naruto asked for because he filmed the fall of Dotou," said Koyuki.

Ino looked at Naruto with a grin.

"Yet another reason I'm starting to respect you ramen breath."

"Which reminds me...I saw a Budew on the way here. I think you'll be getting more Grass types around here now that it's warmed up a bit," said Naruto.

"A Budew? Which way did you see it again?" said Ino. Naruto gave her directions and an hour later she came back happy as a lark.

She had been trying to get a Budew or Roselia for months now.

* * *

Naruto was helping set up the stage for the contests when he heard an odd rumor.

"There's a mountain that hasn't thawed? Where?" said Naruto.

"Where are you going Naruto?" asked Haku.

"There's a mountain that has a permanent layer of frost on it. All the Ice types have been congregating there since the generators started up. I was thinking of visiting it," said Naruto.

"...I'll asked Kakashi if he can keep an eye around here while we go out to get some new Pokémon for our teams. I'll take Ino later," said Haku.

"So did you get any good Hyoton scrolls from the Snow Village?" asked Naruto.

"A lot of basic stuff, some items that once belonged to my clan, and a bunch of tips on how to skate on ice," said Haku pleased.


	19. Chapter 19

"Where have you two been?" asked Ino.

"Catching Ice types. Once this is over I'll take you over there so you can get some for your team too," said Haku.

"Count me in!" said Ino.

"How's the stage looking?"

"Frostflower and Haru-chan have been making the flowers really lively. By the way, where can I seal these plants that they won't on us before we get home? I've been stocking up a lot," said Ino happily.

"I can seal them for you. Where are they?" asked Naruto.

Ino handed them to him, and he put them in a special seal.

"Now they won't die until we get home! You did ask what type of soil they need right?" asked Naruto.

"I forgot. I'll ask before we leave," said Ino embarrassed.

Naruto had his clones finish up the stage in the middle of one of the best looking fields. The director was still getting into place, so he had to build spots for the cameras to go.

Normally the Snow Ninja would be wary of doing something like this. But as Naruto pointed out, they were giving all the publicity of being in a contest solely to their village and were only acting as judges. Which meant once the movie came out, they would get more mission requests. It was free promotion after all.

"All done over here boss!" yelled one of the clones.

"Same here!" yelled another.

"Then dispel you idiots!" he yelled back.

"OW!" he yelped. Because those damn clones had dispelled by hitting themselves with hammers.

The clones started to set up the cameras at all angles. The stage was out in the open, so they would have an excellent view of the Pokémon and trainers.

They were promoting Yukigakure as a way to pacify the angry shinobi. So they had to do a very good job of it.

* * *

Ino was in her best outfit (she had packed it the second she heard they were going to be in a movie set. Never know when you would be an extra.) and Koyuki had done up her make-up personally. Naruto and Kakashi had avoided that room since Haku, Ino and Koyuki were giggling in a way that gave them the creeps.

If Haku wasn't bi, Kakashi would eat his _Icha Icha_.

She adjusted her hair a little, and got ready.

Finally she stepped out onto the stage with a huge smile. The cameras were on her completely and she was in her element.

The Gossip Princess of Konoha was about to have her first onstage debut.

She couldn't wait to rub Sakura's face in it.

"Welcome one and all to the first ever Pokémon Contest held since the Cataclysm! For those of you who are unaware of what a Contest is, the answer is simple! Most trainers, breeders and rangers do their best to make their Pokémon powerful...but can they make their battles appealing as well? There is more to training than just fighting! Now, on our panel of judges we have the new Daimyo of Spring, Koyuki-dono! The only real expert of the world before the Cataclysm from Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto! And the elder of the Hidden Village of Snow, Tsurara Kotomine! Let's give our judges a round of applause before we introduce all the contestants from the Village of Snow!" said Ino.

The audience cheered and applauded for the judges.

"Now for our contestants! We have representing the genin Yuki! Hari! Annnd Hikari! For the Chunin we have Sora! Nadeshiko! Annnd Tsuki! For our jounin, we had only one applicant to pass the screening process, so let's give a big round of applause to Yukito!"

Yukito was the lone male of the seven to pass, and his nickname was Snow Bunny among his collegues. He had silver hair and brown eyes.

"Now let's have a round of applause for our candidates for the big prize! A complete set of evolutionary stones, 10,000 ryo cash, and a mission of their choice!"

Naruto had picked the prizes and supplied the stones. Originally there had been a ribbon for a prize, but he had changed it to a mission of the ninja's choice instead. All three judges had contributed to the prize.

"Now to begin our contest! The first one up is Yukito-san!"

"Go Frosty!" Yukito called, tossing his seal ball into the air. Frosty turned out to be a Froslass.

"Fros!"

"Frosty use Icy Wind then Swift!"

"FROS!"

Frosty sent a torrent of stars into the air, then froze them into beautiful ice covered diamonds. The audience applauded the combination, as it was quite appealing to the eye.

"Very nicely done. Most people have trouble combining two attacks like that, but it was flawlessly executed," commented Naruto.

"They're like frosted shooting stars. I approve," said Koyuki, clearly impressed.

"There was definite power behind that attack, and you could feel the chill from several feet away. Well done," said Tsurara.

"Well done Yukito-san! Next up is Yuki-san!"

"Go, Glacier!"

"Glaceon!"

Naruto watched with interest. It was clear Yuki took very good care of Glacier.

"Hail, then use Iron Tail!" said Yuki.

Because Naruto knew how out of control techniques could get, he had special seals that kept the hard pieces of ice from hitting the audience and the judges. Glacier jumped to and fro, turning the hail into small bursts of icy fireworks. Naruto barely refrained from applauding.

"Very nicely done! The execution of a normally irritating attack that lasts for a while and the use of Iron Tail to turn them into miniature fireworks... Inspiring!" said Naruto. Yuki blushed at his praise, especially when she could tell he was being completely honest.

"The flash of colors as the sun hit the destroyed hail stones... Absolutely breathtaking!" said Koyuki. Like Naruto she had trouble not applauding.

"A very interesting use of a normally useless attack. I approve," said Tsurara.

She had been uncertain about this whole 'contest' idea, but now she was glad to have taken the chance. This little show was going to boost mission rates in the future, she could just tell! Plus it gave some of the weaker ninja something to rub in the noses of their stronger colleagues.

"Up now is Hari-san!"

"Come on out, Mochi!"

"Catty!"

Ino barely refrained from squealing. She loved Skitty and Delcatty!

"Mochi, use Icy Wind then Tail Whip!"

The Delcatty used it's tail to move and direct the icy cold winds. The effect was quite impressive.

"Absolutely stunning!" said Naruto. And it was rather impressive, since Hari was the first of the contestants who didn't use an Ice type to use Icy Wind.

"Very impressive," said Koyuki.

"Creative," was all Tsurara had to say about it.

"Next up is the last of the genin contestants, Hikari-san!"

"Go Beauty!"

Beauty turned out to be a Beautifly.

"Beauty, Silver Wind!"

Once the wind was out, Hikari then ordered, "Now use Twister!"

The twister sucked up the Silver Wind and caught the light of the sun, creating a rainbow effect.

"Very interesting," said Naruto.

"Cute," said Koyuki.

"A skillful use of Bug and Dragon type moves."

"And now, for the chunin contestants... Come on up, Nadeshiko-san!"

"Go Sphere!"

"Spheal!"

"Sphere, Ice Ball, then balance it on an Aqua Tail!"

"Spheal!"

Sphere created a good sized Ice Ball (Nadeshiko had been trying to make Ice Balls the size of her head) and began to bounce it around using Aqua Tail. Considering the Pokémon didn't have much of a tail to speak of, it was less impressive than it could have been.

"Sora-san, you are up next!"

"Go Pidgeot!"

With a cry that sounded far too much like it's second evolutionary form, the large tan, gold and red bird appeared. It was an impressive specimen for a common type.

"Pidgeot, use Whirlwind then Roost!"

The pigeon type began to circle the whirlwind, displaying an innate talent for riding the wind. And when it rested, feathers danced around it.

"Very nice. A bit lacking in passion, but still very impressive," said Naruto. To be honest he was a bit bored with this, but his poker face didn't show that much.

"I like the fact she didn't use any ice types, which seem a bit too prevelant today, but a common Pokémon. Very impressive."

"The Pidgeot is well cared for, and is larger than most I've seen. She clearly takes very good care of it," commented Tsurara.

"And now our last contestant...Tsuki-san!"

"Go Missy!"

"Misdrevius!"

"Missy, use Shadow Ball then Nightshade!"

Missy shot the ball upward, then blasted it with Nightshade. The black fireworks caused by the stunt were spectacular to see.

"Absolutely stunning! The use of Dark and Ghost type attacks... I love it!" said Naruto enthusiastically.

"A visual masterpiece!" said Koyuki.

"A great combination!" said Tsurara, very impressed.

"And now that the first half of the contest is over with, our judges will convene to decide who pass on to the second half... the battle stage! For those of you who don't know, the battle stage is where those who have impressed both judges and audience battle it out to determine who wins!"

* * *

_Half an hour later..._

Ino came back onto the extended stage, which had been pulled out from the original one. On either end was a small box for the trainers to stand in, and behind them was a scoreboard. It was run by lightning chakra, and for each hit, the bars would go down.

Kakashi was the one insuring the scoreboard stayed charged...it was either that or get roped into construction and tearing down the stage.

"Welcome back to the contest! The votes are in, and those passing on to the next round are: Tsuki! Yuki! Hari! And Yukito! Now for our second round we have a simple system! Land more hits than your opponent, and you pass on to the next round! Also, if you knock out the other Pokémon, you automatically pass! Just remember, there is a five minute time limit, so try to keep it short and sweet okay?" said Ino.

Yukito walked up to the stage, facing Yuki, his younger sister.

"Now folks, for the second round you have to use a _different_ Pokémon than the one you had in the first. This insures that the one you use is well rested! However that only applies to the first of the second round! You must battle with the same Pokémon against the second opponent, but don't worry! We heal them back to minimum fighting strength! So without further ado, let's battle!"

"Go, Usagi!" said Yukito.

"Buneary!"

"Go Saber!"

"Grovyle!"

Ino made a note to ask Yuki where she caught a Treecko. She really needed something like that to boost her team's attack...and that Buneary was just adorable!

"Usagi, use Ice Beam!"

"Saber, counter that with Solar Beam!"

The two attacks clashed...thanks to the rather bright sun, the Solar Beam's charge didn't take nearly as long as normal. One of the little known uses for Sunny Day was to make it easier to use Solar Beam. The charge time when Sunny Day was active was a few seconds, instead of minutes.

Though a fight at noon in a place that was rather close to the sun's rays worked just as well too.

The attack resulted in a giant block of oddly shaped ice. With that, Saber and Usagi clashed with their fists.

"Usagi, Double Slap!"

"Saber, Leaf Blade!"

It was clear where Saber's name came from, as the Grovyle's leaf glowed and it expertly used the flat of the blade to counter the hits. Apparently Yuki had a habit of sparing with her Pokémon using a real sword.

"Saber, Leech Seed!"

The Grovyle spat out several seeds which covered the Buneary. It was already exhausted, since Saber had more experience fighting opponents using it's Leaf Blade attack.

It passed out from the drain of the attack.

"Buneary is unable to battle! Winner is Grovyle!" announced Haku. He was in his favorite kimono, and since he was the acting breeder for this thing, he got to proctor the fights.

Plus it gave him some screen time. Naruto could already see the marriage proposals for Haku, and he knew for a fact that with his girly looks it wouldn't be just the girls.

He knew for a fact Zabuza was already waiting with cameras to capture that. Perfect blackmail material.

Yukito passed by his younger sister and congratulated her. He knew how hard she trained with Saber. She beamed at him.

"Next up is Hari vs Tsuki!"

"Go Haunt!" said Tsuki.

"Haunter!"

"Go Meg!"

"Maganium!"

"Battle start!" said Ino.

"Meg, use vine whip!"

"Haunt, Curse!"

Haunter dodged the Vine Whip and cut the amount Meg could use several times down with curse.

"Haunt, Lick!"

Haunter's tongue licked Meganium. You could see the shivers go down the Grass-type's spine.

"Meg, use Razor Leaf!" said Hari.

Unfortunately, the Lick attack from Haunter had a secondary side effect, which became apparent. Meganium was paralyzed.

"Haunt, use Night Shade!"

"Haunter!"

The blast of ghostly energy slammed into Meg. The poor Grass-type didn't stand a chance.

"Meganium is unable to battle! Winner is Haunter!" announced Haku.

Hari walked up to Tsuki.

"Good battle," she said.

"You two. Same time next week?" grinned Tsuki.

Tsuki was the best ghost user in the Snow Village.

_Ten minutes later..._

"And now the final round! Yuki vs Tsuki! Battle, begin!"

"Saber, go!"

"Go Haunt!"

"Haunter!"

"Grovyle!"

"Saber, use Leaf Blade!"

"Haunt, use Shadow Ball!"

Grovyle batted the Shadow Ball away with the Leaf Blade, and went in for the attack. Haunter vanished between the cracks of the wooden stadium.

"Haunt, use Night Shade!" said Tsuki.

Haunter appeared behind Groyvle and attacked.

"Saber, use Protect!"

The shield appeared just as the blast was about to hit.

Tsuki thought quickly.

"Haunt, use Fire Punch!"

Naruto wasn't the only one to lean forward with interest. Haunter's hand turned red with flames as it struck Groyvle in the face.

"Grov!" cried Saber in pain.

The hit did more than hurt, it loosened the odd necklace around the Sceptile's neck. Naruto recognized it instantly.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who made Everstones into necklaces.

With the stone removed (he discreetly had Shifter pick it up out of view of the camera to return to the girl) Groyvle started to glow.

"Sceptile!"

Naruto knew that the cash this movie got would sky rocket once word got out that an actual evolution occurred in the movie. Very few civilians got to see that moment when a Pokémon evolved.

Hari got over her shock of evolution and cried "Saber, use Iron Tail!"

"Sceptile!" cried Saber, as it used it's fern-like tail to slam into Haunter. The ghost cried out in shock before it fainted.

"Haunter is unable to battle! Sceptile and Hari are the winners!" declared Haku.

The screen behind them changed to show the newly evolved Sceptile and Hari grinning. Koyuki handed the girl the cash and Evolutionary stones inside a trophy, which they had specially made. Hari could pick from her choice of missions later. Naruto did discreetly hand her the Everstone necklace back.


	20. Chapter 20

**_Due to a mistake in the last chapter, I would like to point out that the last time I played __Pokémon was when I borrowed White from my cousin. As such, I may have forgotten an attack or two._**

* * *

Ino practically squealed with joy when she learned that because of how well the contest had gone, they were allowed to have an Egg from the Snow Village breeding area. They weren't allowed in the village itself, but they could pick one out and it would be brought to them.

Naruto was pleased to hear that because of the contest, more trainers from the village were taking their teams seriously again. Though that probably had something to do with the fact Koyuki said she wasn't going to downsize the Pokémon division like she was some of the less popular ninja programs.

If relations between Pokémon and trainer shot up because of that announcement, well, Naruto wasn't going to complain now was he?

Haku was pleased too, because he had gotten a lot of beginner and a few intermediate Hyoton-style scrolls, some of which came from his clan. He even got a flying model armor like that one chick had for Naruto.

Plus they all got two hours on the only still frozen mountain to catch whatever they wanted.

When they got on the boat for home, they all had new additions to their teams.

Ino had her new Gloom, a Buneary, Minccino, Budew and a Treecko egg. She also had a _ton_ of rare plants to raise back home, all sealed courtesy of Naruto. Of course her new Hoppip was on her head enjoying the breeze. Ino rarely had it in the seal ball.

Haku had a Lapras, Cubone (how it got there no one knew), a random egg that someone had found in the back of the breeder's area (since he had trouble making up his mind and no one else wanted it), Snorunt, and a Marill.

Kakashi only caught two. Corphish and a Sharpedo. Apparently he wasn't as fond of Ice types.

Naruto had caught three, but only kept one on him. He was now the proud owner of a Tropius, Spheal, and a Piplup. His egg was a Gible.

Naturally they all rather enjoyed their mission. It wasn't often you got so many Pokémon for your team and some new jutsu scrolls.

Plus Naruto's nice bonus for his contest idea and taping the boss battle. Ayame was currently sleeping in his bag. He was just glad he had that strength training to fall back on, because Ayame was heavy!

Right when they were about to go to shore, they heard a low sound. Looking off the starboard side, Naruto realized it was the Wailord he had helped earlier. It had something on it's head.

Shifter turned into Espeon and talked to the Wailord.

"_She said this is for you. She found it on the sea floor,"_ said Shifter.

"Thank you!"

The Wailord sang farewell, and went back into the sea. The shell it had given him had the same weird shape as some you would find on the sea floor. Kakashi was the only one to recognize it though.

"A Helix Fossil? I bet that Wailord didn't know what it was," said Kakashi.

"What is it?" asked Ino.

"One of those odd fossils you can find occasionally that can be revived into a Pokémon. That one I think belongs to Omanyte."

"Cool!" said Naruto.

"Unfortunately the ability to revive fossils has been lost for the most part. Most shinobi keep them as prizes in case someone ever figures out how to restore them. I have an Old Amber myself," said Kakashi. He liked Aerodactyl. Enough said.

* * *

"Welcome back Naruto. How was the mission?"

"AWESOME!" said Naruto.

"He may have inadvertently gotten us an alliance with the new Land of Spring," said Haku.

"What?" said Tsunade, eyes narrowing.

"The actress we were paid to protect is the new Daimyo of Spring, Queen Koyuki. In addition, Naruto revived an old practice called Pokémon contests in order to help lessen the anger the Snow Village had towards the fact Koyuki-dono planned to downsize their military budget in favor of repairing the country. Apparently the Leader of Snow liked the idea so much that he said he would seriously consider entering an alliance with us once the area had stabilized from the climate shift and people got used to the new Daimyo," said Ino.

"Well at least you didn't accidentally get another country to declare war on us," said Tsunade.

"He also used his healing techniques on an injured Wailord on the way there and it was caught on film," said Haku.

Tsunade looked at Naruto. He whistled innocently.

"The village will get a nice bonus once the movie sells. Since I did most of the music, and got the best screen time, we get five percent of the DVD sales," said Naruto.

Tsunade smirked.

"So when do you want to hold that concert to display your new music skills?" she said.

"Give me a week to wind down and prepare. I'm going to need to fix the garden up for guests...those invited will get a notice two days in advance," said Naruto.

* * *

"How was your mission Ino?" asked Inoichi.

"A lot more fun that I thought. I even got to add to my team!" she said pleased.

"Oh? What did you add to it?"

Ino threw all her seal balls into the air, revealing her new Pokémon. As they got used to their new home, she told her father all about her mission, going into detail about what Naruto did to her surprise. When she mentioned the fact he had come up with a way to help the Snow Village, Inoichi's eyebrows shot up.

Clearly Naruto was his father's son.

"So where are these plants?"

"Naruto sealed them for me, but I wanted to rest for a bit before I transplanted them."

"Smart move. Just remember, if they are poisonous..."

"I have to build up an immunity before I can use them in the field. I know daddy. But seriously, Naruto surprised me in Spring. I always thought he was an idiot, but the way he took charge..."

"A true shinobi hides their ability until needed," said Inoichi wisely.

"Well, thanks to him I have an awesome new team! He even helped me catch a Hoppip, and you know how much I love those!"

Oh yes, Inoichi knew. She had a giant Hoppip doll in her room for crying out loud from her fifth birthday. If it wasn't for the fact they didn't have any Hoppip eggs when she graduated, she wouldn't have gotten an Oddish.

* * *

"Welcome back. How was Snow?"

"More exciting than expected. Naruto's luck struck again, and I now have a Lapras and an egg no one else wanted. Oh, and we were all in the movie," said Haku blandly.

"Say what?"

"The actress in question was the missing Snow Princess, now Daimyo and Queen of Spring. Naruto's luck managed to get us a real fight and thanks to his knowledge of pre-Cataclysm events, we ended up hosting a fashion show called a Pokémon contest in order to help out the Snow Village. According to their leader, they are seriously considering an alliance with us," said Haku blandly.

"Damn that kid has messed up luck," said Zabuza staring.

"On the bright side, I also got plenty of new jutsu to use for my bloodline, so it wasn't that bad," said Haku cheerfully.

"That does it, next time the brat gets a mission above C rank I am so going with him! I'm bored dammit!"

Haku giggled in a way that worried Zabuza. If he didn't know any better he would swear his apprentice was gay.

* * *

"I'm home guys!" yelled Naruto.

He was immediately tackled by his team, some of which came straight from Snow/Spring through the transport boxes.

(Shinobi who had enough room for their Pokémon had the option of having them straight to their house instead of the communal training ground. There was also a device that allowed those Pokémon to go the training ground without human help from their homes. Naruto's parents had such an arrangement and Tsunade just had to reactivate it.)

He was about to close the gate when a flash of fire appeared. When it died down, a large Ninetails was there, next to an Alakazam.

"Uh...hi?"

He let them in, and even made everyone dinner.

(While he was gone on his mission, they had to join the other Pokémon in the training ground to eat.)

"So who did you two belong to?" he asked.

Alakazam pointed at a picture, and Ninetails pointed at the one next to it. Naruto's eyes widened.

"You belonged to my mom and dad?" he said in shock.

They nodded. Apparently they had been waiting for the house to be reopened so they could come home.

"Well the more the merrier. I won't force you to join me in missions but you are free to come and go. Mind helping me clear a spot so I can do the outdoor concert in a few days?" he asked.

Ninetails' eyes gleamed. It always loved when Kushina played an instrument. It quickly joined Kurama in clearing a small spot.

* * *

Tropic (Naruto's new Tropius) was seen fluttering around for a full day carrying mail. Inside each invitation was a single use seal that would allow them to bypass the ones Naruto had set up for his house. Some were already allowed in, but it was an emergency seal in case they needed to get in and Naruto wasn't in the village.

Hinata, Neji, the Third Hokage, Asuma, Konohamaru and his group, Shino, Ino, Haku, Zabuza, Tsunade, Kiba, Kurenai, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Chouji, Iruka, Anko, Teuchi and Ayame were all invited to the house.

Alakazam helped to set up the seats, and the rest helped with decorations and food. Since Naruto knew how much Chouji ate, he had an Akimichi approved catering group provide the food and drinks.

No way was he paying for a buffet he had to cook for an Akimichi!

Naruto had all his instruments ready. This was the first time he played for his friends and he wanted to be sure that it rocked! He had all the songs in his head memorized, and Kyuubi had promised a few Whirlpool songs in exchange for being let out. His team planned to be the background pyrotechnics for him.

The guests came in one at a time.

Soon they were all waiting for Naruto to start playing, snacking on the food he had provided.

"Hope you're ready for this guys!" said Naruto grinning. He was thanking every deity he knew that he didn't have stage fright. He put his flute to his mouth and began to play.

(If you have the Jiraichi movie, play that lullaby May sings to Max and Jiraichi to get them to sleep.)

Next was Oracion, the song that soothed two legendary Pokémon when they were trying to kill each other. The song after that was something Naruto had heard once at a shrine, and he had gotten the song from the Priest. It was called the Kagura. A song meant to please the gods.

From what he could tell, the Pokémon loved it just as much as the gods did.

He continued to play for a few hours before ending it with the Song of the Sea using the shell he had bought. It actually sounded better when he used that.

When it was over, he noticed that everyone was staring for a moment before the clapping started.

"Wow Naruto, I didn't know you could play so good!" said Chouji impressed. He actually stopped eating just to hear the songs. That alone said how much he liked them.

Once it was over they all devoured the food Naruto had ordered (leaving the seals off long enough for the company to set things up had been a nightmare. Luckily Alakazam had kept an eye on everyone and the servers didn't get too offended) and left a few hours after that. The old Hokage decided to look for an old book of songs for Naruto for his birthday, which was coming up in a month. If he had known how good the boy was with instruments, he would have gotten some for him sooner.

* * *

Naruto took one look at the calender and went into total panic mode.

His birthday was in two weeks. While the mobs had more or less stopped, that didn't stop the drunk idiots from gathering together and bothering him.

Which was why he immediately started to upgrade every seal and trap on the wall. Alakazam had to look into Naruto's memories to see why he was so freaked out, and he wasn't happy.

Tsunade, of course, was less than pleased to learn of these mobs and idiots who harassed her only remaining family. Which was why she did something that Naruto would later complain about.

She told Ino and Haku that his birthday was coming up soon and the two started conspiring against him.

Ino cackled much like Anko would when she had Shikamaru kidnap Naruto so they could throw him a proper birthday party. It was a good thing Shifter realized what they were doing though...

* * *

Anko was the one to report the odd sounds in the Forest of Death. Normally this wouldn't bother anyone, but the fact was that Anko didn't recognize the sound at all, which was why Tsunade sent Naruto in with his current team.

Naruto's team had Shifter, Tropic, Penny (Piplup), Kurama, Naru and one of Anko's prized Dratini eggs. She had given him one that had odd coloring, suspecting it to be a Shiny. It was normally blue and white, but this one was orange.

According to her, it had to be meant for Naruto.

Naruto walked into the forest with Anko, since she was the only one intimately familiar with it.

"So where did you hear this crying?"

Anko lead the way. The deeper they went, the more Naruto heard the odd sound. It almost sounded like...

He stopped cold. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Shit...I think we're dealing with Celebi," said Naruto.

"What?!"

"What other Pokémon lives in forests and says 'Bi Bi' all the time?" he said.

Anko paled. She had no desire to be thrown into the past.

"Bi bi Bi!"

The Forest began to glow an odd hue. They stood still, because one of the legends said that if you stayed absolutely still then Celebi wouldn't accidentally grab you.

Suddenly a green fairy creature flew past them, and they could see why it was freaked out. A tiger was trying to eat it!

"Shifter, use Confusion on that tiger!" shouted Naruto in a panic.

"Espeon!" cried Shifter. The jewel on it's head glowed brightly before the tiger suddenly crashed into a tree, knocking it out cold.

"Bi bi!" said Celebi, drifting over to a freaking out Anko and worried Naruto.

"You okay Celebi?" asked Naruto.

"Bi bi bi!"

"Why was that tiger chasing you anyway?"

Celebi came eye to eye with Shifter. Shifter looked at Naruto.

"_Apparently it appeared right when the tiger was about to fall asleep, and angered it without meaning to. It was only supposed to come here to check on Naru, apparently."_

"Naru? She's right here," said Naruto, pulling out the seal ball.

Celebi looked at Naru carefully. Then at Naruto.

"Bi bi Bi!"

"_Celebi says that you are almost ready to take the test that Arceus devised specifically for you. The next time the forest glows, be prepared to be sent into the past. There you must find and rescue an egg in order to begin the next stage of your journey," _explained Shifter.

"Thanks for the heads up Celebi! Try to avoid the tigers from now on," said Naruto.

"Bi bi!"

Celebi flew off, and vanished into the time stream.

Anko looked at Naruto in shock.

"So all this time it was Celebi I was hearing?"

"Apparently. It is the Guardian of the Forests, so it makes sense."

"Right. I'm off to get drunk. Very, very drunk..." said Anko.


	21. Chapter 21

"So let me get this straight. Not only did you run into Celebi being chased by a tiger, but it informed you that whatever test the Legendaries have made up for you is almost upon you and that in order to pass you have to rescue some random egg?" said Tsunade.

When this debriefing was over, she was so getting drunk. Naruto was a headache and a half and he wasn't even trying!

"Yeah. I don't know why they picked me, but I get the feeling if I do well then things are going to change around here."

"Like how?" demanded Tsunade.

"Knowing my luck...we might be able to get machines and techniques that were lost in the Cataclysm, like the ones used to heal Pokémon in a matter of hours instead of days, or maybe the one that brought fossils back to life," said Naruto shrugging.

That caught Tsunade's attention. Having those machines would make things much easier. Part of the reason why only Shinobi had Pokémon was because of how expensive it was to heal their injuries. It took days for them to heal some of the worst ones, and that was with their best healers on the case!

"Well, when you do get sent back into the past, be sure to act like a Konoha shinobi and don't embarrass us," said Tsunade finally.

"Hai, Baa-chan," said Naruto grinning.

"Brat."

* * *

Naru was practicing Shadow Ball under Shifter's guidance. Her illusions had come a long way thanks to Kurenai, who was happy to have such an interesting student.

And what a student Naru was. Like Naruto took to Shadow Clones, Naru had an instinctive knack towards genjutsu. The fact that genjutsu required less control to use compared to medical ninjustu meant that Naru had more luck with the art compared to her trainer.

In fact, Kurenai would swear the two acted more like brother and sister than trainer and Pokémon.

Finally Naru created a ball of pure darkness that destroyed a nearby tree.

Shifter praised the fox Pokémon, who had been in Naruto's henge for the exercise. The better she got at pretending to be human, the less likely she would be taken and forced to breed by other shinobi.

Something Naruto would never do. There were breeders out there that just stuck a Ditto and whatever rare Pokémon they had managed to catch and sold the eggs. Anko might have been this type, had it not been for the fact that if she hadn't had the Dratini she would have been ostracized as much as Naruto was until Shifter came along. As such she never forced her partner to breed.

Tomorrow they were supposed to make an inspection of the trails that civilians were cleared to use through the forests. Which meant they had to cut training short.

It was a C rank, but that was only because there was the very remote chance bandits may or may not show up during inspection. In which case they had to signal the nearest ANBU and hold the fort until they arrived to deal with the problem. There were very few missing nin who were stupid enough to attack Konoha shinobi on inspection duty less than twenty miles from the village itself. Those that were tended to be caught rather quickly by the Hunter nin.

For his team, Naruto was going to have Hinata and Chouji. Zabuza had asked to join any mission above C that involved Naruto, since apparently he was bored out of his mind and he had heard about Naruto's odd brand of luck.

"Shifter, Naru! Dinner is ready!" yelled Naruto. He had paused in his own training of chakra chains (which he had found his mother's scroll on) to make dinner for everyone.

He was about half way through the training, considering he had been spamming Shadow clones, some of which trained with his team. Thankfully he had already stored his new Gible egg for later, along with the Growlithe egg he had gotten from the Inuzuka clan.

The only reason he hadn't done so sooner was because no one told him you could store eggs in the server indefinitely and they wouldn't hatch until later, when you had the time and room on your team.

He was the expert on Pokémon and pre-Cataclysm events, yet he never knew this simple fact. It was just one of those things that was common knowledge and you either knew it already or heard about it by word of mouth.

As such Tsunade had been the one to clue him in. Naruto was the type of person to keep and egg on him all the time and raise the Pokémon for a while simply because it was a newborn. Finding out you could store eggs had been a blessing for him.

Which was why he had three eggs in the server, though he planned to take the Dratini with him. He had a feeling he would need it.

* * *

"Hey Hinata, you ready for the inspection?" asked Naruto.

She nodded, and double-checked her seals on their food supply. It was a piece of advice Tsunade had given her, since living off the land wasn't a good idea. The monthly inspection was mostly newly minted Chunins and the odd genin checking the state of the road and removing the obstacles. Said obstacles occasionally included the odd bandit or thief, which wasn't exactly good for public relations if left unchecked.

Hence why each member was given three flares that would alert nearby ANBU, who had to patrol the forest anyway. The only reason they weren't doing this detail was because they had long since petitioned the Hokage to make it a C rank to lighten their own work load...and because a good number saw the duty beneath them for some reason.

Chouji raced up to join him. He had heard a rumor that if you went with Naruto on a C rank, you came home with more Pokémon on your team than you left with.

This wasn't helped by listening to Ino talk about her trip to the newly named Spring Country. Or by talking to Haku. Or anyone who had been on a mission with Naruto really.

Which was why he had volunteered to go with Naruto and Hinata, despite what his father had to say about the matter.

(Chouza didn't think Chouji would enjoy this mission, because it meant limited food was available and there was a small probability that his son might get hurt. However he didn't try to dissuade him because he knew it was Chouji's decision in the long run.)

His Lairon (his Aron had evolved since he got it, and was currently level 35) and Snorlax couldn't wait to have new friends on the team.

Naruto planned to give the first Makuhita he found to Chouji, because if there was ever a Pokémon that resembled the boy, that would be it. Seriously.

"Right. Now that we are ready, let's head out!" said Naruto grinning.

* * *

"_Is the boy ready, Celebi?" asked Arceus._

"_Indeed Lord Arceus. The child has raised the Zorua admirably, and they could very well save the second egg that we took back. In fact I would dare say that the child he rescued from the ruins could rival it's mother," said Celebi._

_Arceus had chosen this particular Celebi because it had experience with Zorua and Zoruark personally, after they had helped save each other from a greedy human who was after Future Sight. Zoruark was narrowly saved by Celebi that day._

"_Very well. When you take the boy and his companions, make sure that he remembers to ask for his father's other technique, which Jiraiya does not have. He must retrieve and return with the second egg if he expects to be taken back to the same time he was kidnapped from."_

_Celebi and a few other Legendary Pokémon chuckled. Arceus had a rather...odd...sense of humor. And since Articuno had left a rare Ice type for the Hyoton child Haku...well, the Legendaries were keeping a closer eye on Konoha for the moment. _

_To insure that they didn't get lost, Dialga was going to help Celebi transport the children and their teams. Any Pokémon they caught in the past would be taken straight to their time if their team was full to avoid problems._

* * *

Naruto's first clue that something was going to happen to him, again, was when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck go up.

"F*ck... Hang on a second guys, I gotta send a message to the old lady," said Naruto.

Hinata and Chouji stared at him in confusion as he had Shifter call down a Flying type to tie a letter to the Hokage to. That was around the time the forest started to glow oddly, and they knew something was up.

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?" asked Hinata.

"Celebi showed up a few weeks ago saying that Arceus had planned some sort of test for me and Naru. It also said the next time the forest started to glow that I would have to retrieve an egg and return to Konoha for me to come back home. I think they're starting the test now."

"What do we do?" asked Chouji nervously.

"Relax guys. I seriously doubt that they plan to drop us somewhere dangerous, and if my guess is right we just need to head to Whirlpool and come back."

"Bi bi BI!" came the cry, and Hinata was resisting the urge to coo at the sight of the fairy-like Pokémon.

Naruto looked at the green fairy, and said "The test is starting, isn't it?"

"Bi."

Naruto sighed. He could only hope Tsunade didn't gut him when they returned.

With a glow of energy that surrounded the three teens, they vanished right as the ANBU appeared to confirm the odd note Naruto sent ahead. Well that and to investigate the glowing forest which was decidedly _not_ normal.

The first thing Naruto noted was that the area had seen better days. The second thing he noticed was that the village in the distance (they had barely gone far enough to see the Hokage Mountain in the distance) had only _three_ heads instead of the four they were used to.

But the third and final thing they noticed (and this was the biggest problem Naruto saw) was that there were dead Iwa ninja all around them.

Naruto put two and two together to get four, and cursed.

"Celebi _had_ to drop us in the middle of the damn Third Shinobi War..."

"WHAT?!" said the two.

"The only time there were ever dead Iwa shinobi this close to the village with the three Hokages in the mountain was the Third Shinobi War. And the only reason that I even know _that_ much is because I happen to be a huge fan of the Fourth. We need to find the date."

Hinata and Chouji nodded in agreement. Naruto would never let anything happen to them.

Naruto quickly henged into a random shinobi with no distinguishing characteristics, and approached one of the chunin. Since he had a real Konoha flak jacket and hitai ate, the man didn't think twice about answering him.

The fact Naruto had practically memorized names and dates of the Third War because it was the one that Minato Namikaze had become famous in didn't hurt either. Once he knew what day it was, he quickly returned to his team.

"Good news, it's the end of the Third war, and Team Minato was just deployed to destroy the bridge. Bad news, it's right on our way to Whirlpool," said Naruto.

"Why do we have to head to Whirlpool anyway?" asked Chouji.

"Long story short, there were two Zorua eggs being studied in Whirlpool before it was destroyed. One I found and hatched. The other was taken back by the Legendary Pokémon, right before the Third War's conclusion. If we're in the ending of the war, then the only thing I can think of that would possibly be considered a test is to retrieve the second egg and return back to Konoha where Celebi will take us home."

"Which way is Whirlpool?" asked Chouji.

Naruto pointed. With a small burst of chakra, the trio headed towards Whirlpool, unaware of what their actions on the way back would result in the changing of history.

* * *

Getting to Whirlpool, as it turned out, was much easier than expected.

Mostly because it had been destroyed only a few days ago, which meant that no one wanted to go there anyway.

Which meant there would be much looting in the name of saving some history.

Or in Hinata's case, stumbling across an old seal book that happened to have the counter for the Caged Bird someone had left behind. This would later result in the short, but nonetheless memorable civil war of the Hyuuga clan, that would end in the deaths of several Clan Elders who weren't well liked that much anyway.

Naruto found the Zorua egg rather easily, since Naru could sense it's presence. They had to dig through three tons of rubble (in which Chouji became invaluable because of his partial expansion jutsu...that boy was a serious powerhouse) to get to it, but eventually they did.

It was a blue and black egg, unlike the red and black one that Naru came from. Instead of claiming the egg for himself, Naruto handed it to Hinata. Having a genjutsu type like Zorua on her team would only add to it's effectiveness in the long run.

While they were searching, Naruto found a young Makuhita and had Chouji catch it.

It was on the way back that things grew complicated. They were about to the bridge which would be destroyed by tomorrow (Naruto had those kind of facts firmly rooted in his head) when he heard something. He raised a hand, singling that they stop.

Hinata and Chouji paused immediately. They were in the middle of a war zone where being a Konoha nin was almost certain to get you killed if an Iwa ninja saw you. The only good thing was that it would take Iwa a few seconds to recognized the Leaf symbol, which was more than enough time for Naru to cast a simple genjutsu to disguise the Leaf on their headbands.

They were ninja. Ninja were supposed to be sneaky and tricksters.

Which was why if they were caught by the wrong side, Naruto was going to do the talking and hopefully bullshit their way out of trouble.

Naruto heard a girl scream and then silence. Then the sound of arguing was heard.

They went in closer and found an Uchiha and...was that Kakashi?!

Naruto took a closer look and confirmed that it was Kakashi Hatake, known pervert and lazy dog.

He went over the date in his head and realize what was going on. One of the mission reports he had read was a declassified one about the destruction of the Bridge right after the battle in which Namikaze earned the moniker Yellow Flash.

During that almost failed mission, one of Team Minato was killed in a rockslide, and Kakashi spent a few months off missions 'recovering'.

If his teammate was the Uchiha, then his eye must have come from him.

Naruto used the ANBU signals to tell his team what he planned to do. This Uchiha was one of theirs, and he wasn't going to let the kid die if he could help it. Both Hinata and Naruto were medic trained by Tsunade herself, and Chouji was crazy strong.

They just had to let events play themselves out until Kakashi and the girl left, and then rescue their fellow Leaf nin.

With the injuries he was going to sustain, it was unlikely the kid would fight them over it.

Chouji looked a little green as the kunoichi removed the Uchiha's Sharingan and replaced Kakashi's ruined eye with it. Thankfully he didn't blow chunks. Hinata and Naruto had developed a tolerance to the messier applications of medical jutsu, which was why they weren't freaking out.

This Rin girl was quite good. A bit weak, but she was decent at what she could do.

Kakashi and Rin left the area, albeit very reluctantly. Once they were a few miles away according to Hinata, Naruto had Chouji remove the boulders.

The damage was severe, but it wasn't fatal if treated properly.

Though this was one of those times that Naruto was very, very glad he kept a fully stocked Extreme Breeder's kit. Otherwise the Uchiha kid would have died.

Hinata insured the boy stayed out cold, because if he struggled he could very well kill himself on accident.

Once Naruto was sure the Uchiha would survive being moved, he had two clones carry him away. He had no idea that Minato would arrive an hour later to say goodbye to his student, only to discover the body missing and signs of medical treatment.

Or that he would come face to face with his own son.


	22. Chapter 22

Minato and his team headed in the direction he sensed Obito's chakra in. despite now having the Sharingan, Kakashi had no idea how to use it and still needed to recover from the transplant before he could even _see_ out of the thing.

When they finally did catch up, they were all in for a bit of a shock.

"Naruto, are you sure that it's okay to move him? I mean according to the report you read he _died_ during this mission..." said the girl. From what Minato could tell she was a Hyuuga, though he could be mistaken.

"Look, I don't care about history being tweaked. I mean according to what I know from the records, that egg was reclaimed, yet here we are retrieving it before the Legendaries could do it. And if Celebi didn't want us to change the past, then it wouldn't have sent us to this time!" said 'Naruto', who had blond hair and was checking the still out cold Obito without chakra.

"He has a point Hinata. But before we settle in, can you check for any Iwa ninja? We're still in enemy territory, even if we mostly pass Leaf headbands for the past ten minutes," said the third shinobi, an Akimichi.

"Byakugan!" said the girl. She stiffened and immediately looked in the direction of Minato and his team.

"Shit. There's enemy ninja nearby aren't there?" said Naruto.

Hinata nodded, and pointed in their direction.

"How close?"

"Close enough to hear us I think they aren't hiding their chakra very well."

Naruto sighed.

"Time to spam some clones."

Several shadow clones were created and immediately dispersed. Because of the blond's obvious familiarity with the forest, Minato didn't see them until it was too late.

"Shit!" he cursed quietly.

Naruto suddenly stood up, as he got the information from the clone Minato had just dispelled.

"Come on out or face the wrath of the Eevee!" he called out.

Minato and his team reluctantly came out of the trees. He heard the gasp of the Hyuuga and the Akimichi and the widening of the eyes of the blond.

And the quiet gasp of shock from his own team.

"It's a mini-sensei..." said Rin in shock.

"Just to be clear here, are you in fact Minato Namikaze, Rin and Kakashi?" said the blond.

"Yes. Are you three really Leaf ninja?" he said suspiciously.

"Born and raised! Hell, these two are clan heirs for Kami's Sake!" said the blond proudly.

"Name and rank," said Minato.

"H-H-Hinata H-H-Hyuga. Genin..." stammered the girl.

"Akimichi Chouji. Genin," said the rather...large boy.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Chunin and future Hokage, believe it!" said the blond.

"Vee!"

"And Shifter. Sorry buddy," amended the blond.

The Eevee jumped onto his head and stayed there with ease.

"Why did you take Obito?" asked Minato.

"Because if we hadn't, he would be dead. I read the mission report about the destruction of the bridge, and it clearly stated deceased. No way in hell am I letting a fellow Leaf shinobi died when I have the supplies and experience to do something about it. Tsunade didn't train me to avoid healing those who need it," said Naruto proudly.

Minato could already feel a headache coming on. He did however note that the kid clearly knew exactly what he was doing (like the Breeder pin wasn't a big clue to that), and that he had the right tools for it too.

Namely everything one would need in extreme emergencies in the field to treat odd injuries, like say several tons of rock pinning nearly half your body?

(Obito apparently lucked out in that, as he had been pinned not crushed. Somehow the rocks had landed in such a way that it wouldn't have killed him, but kept half his body trapped.)

When Minato heard the blond's request for the Flying Thunder God (and not believing the kid when he said that he had a knack for seals) he decided to humor the boy.

Imagine his shock when the blond managed to actually pull it off...and then proceeded to demonstrate a fully complete Rasengan.

Still, he was pretty pissed when said blond managed to slip something into their drinks to knock them out for an hour, by which time they were gone with Obito.

He never did find out where they came from (aside from actually being Leaf ninja) or where they took his student.

As such, Obito was still labeled dead in the rockslide. It wasn't like he could explain about children from the future rescuing the oddball Uchiha... and he half believed it to be a dream thanks to the concoction the kid slipped into his drink anyway.

* * *

When they reached the same area they were originally taken from, Chouji had captured three new Pokémon he normally wouldn't have, in addition to the Makuhita Naruto helped him get.

(Flaffy, Phanphy and a Swinub who was very far away from Snow country. How it got there Naruto had no idea.)

Hinata managed to get a Corsela in addition to the new Zorua egg, as well a Ditto that Naruto had no interest in.

Obito was still out cold, mostly because Hinata made sure of it. His seal balls were still on him, and from what Naruto could tell the kid only had two anyway. An Aipom and a Torchic.

Celebi appeared before them and gave Naruto a look.

Shifter turned into Espeon in order to translate.

"_You were only supposed to get the egg."_

"If you Legendaries believe I'll let a fellow Leaf Ninja die when I could have done something, then you better think again!"said Naruto.

"Bi bi BI!"

"_Yes, but now history will change. Are you ready to deal with the consequences of rescuing this Uchiha?"_

"Screw history! I don't believe in fate, and if you didn't want us to change it you shouldn't have taken us to the near past!" said Naruto firmly. His arms were starting to hurt from carrying the unconscious Uchiha.

Celebi looked Naruto in the eye, before sighing. The light of time travel enveloped them, and they vanished back into their own time. Naruto had no idea what he had done by convincing them to rescue this _particular_ Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto and his team completed the inspection in record time, having his shadow clones carrying the out cold Uchiha.

Because his chakra hadn't recovered, the ANBU didn't notice him when they came to get Naruto's report on the trip. Tsunade would not be happy when she learned what exactly happened.

"You mean to tell me you three went all the way back to the Third War...and brought back someone who was legally declared dead?!" she shrieked.

The boy in question was in the Intensive care under Shizune's watch. While Naruto had treated the boy as best he could, the kid still needed a lot of help before he could safely be allowed to wake up.

"Look, as far as I can tell, aside from rescuing him we didn't change a thing. All we did was retrieve the second Zorua egg that the Uzumaki clan was researching and return to where we were dropped off."

"True, but do you have any idea how much paperwork I have to fill out to make him a shinobi on the payroll?!"

"Can't you just use shadow clones?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade was about to berate him, when she realized he had a point.

"Just to be clear Uzumaki, when that boy wakes up he is _your_ responsibility! You brought him to the present, you have to get him back up to speed!"

"Yes Baa-chan!" said Naruto. Compared to what she could have done, he was getting off relatively light.

* * *

The first moment Obito knew something was wrong was the fact he woke up to the hospital ceiling and not the stars. In fact it was daylight, and it should have been night.

That and he distinctly remembered having his chakra cut off while he was half awake, which lead to him being knocked out again. The fact he wasn't dead and was in a real hospital also didn't help.

The last thing he could remember clearly was the rocks falling and giving Kakashi his eye. After that, nothing.

A woman walked in, clearly an experienced nurse. She checked his vitals before sending someone to retrieve the Hokage. He subtly relaxed when he heard that he was in the Leaf village. Why else would they call for the Hokage?

He recognized who it was too, though he wondered when Tsunade had taken up the post when his sensei was the one who was most likely to be chosen. She hadn't expressed any interest in the post before now.

"What happened? Where am I?" asked Obito.

"First off, you are in the Konoha Intensive Care Unit. You were lucky one of my students happened to be nearby in time to save you. You were pinned by nearly three tons of rock and his team was in the area for a different mission. They managed to keep you alive long enough to get you here. Second, you should know that the War is over, and Konoha won. Third, out of Team Minato, only you and Kakashi Hatake are still alive. Your teacher and your third member were killed due to certain circumstances," said Tsunade calmly.

"What? How long has the war been over?! What happened to Minato-sensei and Rin?"

"The war has been over for well over a decade. Minato died protecting the village from a bijuu and Rin...well, she snapped and tried to kill his son. Kakashi was forced to take her out."

Obito sagged in shock. His teacher dead, and Rin killed by Kakashi to protect his teacher's son.

"Now, before we go any further, I need to go over a few things. Just a formality really, but you were legally declared dead during that last mission you took and in order to put you back on the mission roster I need you to help me fill these out. After that, once you recover enough to leave, you'll be staying in a familiar setting."

"Where?" he asked.

"Your teacher's old house. His son recently bought it and has said you are more than welcome to stay with him until you are ready to deal with being in another time. You won't have to take any missions until you're ready."

Obito was numb as he answered all the questions Tsunade asked. Most were standard ones, but some were rather personal and he blushed as he answered.

* * *

It took a week before he was declared fit to leave the hospital on his own feet, but he was still too injured to take any missions. He was officially on paid leave.

Obito made his way to his sensei's old house, noting that the seals had been updated since he was last there. Several people who knew him actually stared in shock, before trying to dispel a genjutsu that wasn't there. He knocked on the gate slowly, trying not to fall over.

Tsunade apparently believed it would be easier for him to recover in familiar settings rather than the hospital, since most ninja hated it there.

The gate slowly swung open, and a familiar Ninetails allowed him to lean against it all the way to the nearest spot.

He lay against the tree and actually feel asleep in the warm sunlight.

He didn't wake up until the owner of the house came in with groceries and several Pokémon carrying them. Apparently he believed in buying in bulk.

The kid was wearing an ungodly amount of orange and he had sun kissed blond hair. Behind him was a Ninetails with flame-like tipped fur, an Espeon levitating a large amount of food, and a girl who looked identical to him carrying two bags.

Oh, and about ten shadow clones loaded to the gills.

The kid directed them all to where it would go, before he finally noticed Obito.

It was like his teacher had deaged into a thirteen year old. It was sorta creepy to be honest.

"Granny said you were awake. Sorry if I wasn't here to help you in, but I needed to get groceries, and the only place that doesn't overcharge me is halfway across the village. My name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Uchiha Obito," said Obito.

"Please tell me you aren't like the rest of the Uchiha clan before it was wiped out..."

"Wiped...out...?"

Naruto pinched his nose.

"Hold on a minute... I have a book with all the recent major events so it shouldn't shock you nearly as much..."

Naruto came back out five minutes later with a book that had been published very recently. It even included the invasion of Orochimaru during the Chunin Exams.

Obito started reading and didn't stop until Naruto passed him a plate of food. When dinner was over, Obito was quizzed by an amused Naruto on what he had read. Once he was reasonably caught up on recent events (enough to ask what really happened to the Kyuubi and was given a rough explanation about the seal on Naruto's stomach) Obito felt numb.

His entire life was literally thrown upside down, and he was in the future with little hope of returning to his own time.

The only reason he hadn't freaked out completely was this.

He was still alive. That rockslide should have killed him, if the shock of having his eye removed while he was awake didn't. Instead he was alive and recovering in a village that hadn't known war in over a decade. He was very lucky things had gone down in a way that he survived at all.

Naruto helped him to his room (Obito had to tell him which one it was...Minato had given him and Kakashi full reign of the spare rooms they had) where Obito was out like a light.

Kakashi appeared two days after Obito got over the shock of being in the future with his teacher and crush were dead. Naruto lead him to the room and gave them some privacy while he worked on lunch.

Seeing as how Tsunade had pulled him from missions until Obito had recovered enough to take on a simple D rank, they were both on paid leave.

He could still train, but he had to do it within reasonable distance of the misplaced Uchiha.

Kakashi came out shocked...and somewhat relieved. Obito was still in his room reading some of Naruto's pre-Cataclysm books. Naruto brought him food and checked in on him several times a day, but he could tell Obito wasn't ready to leave just yet.

Finally, two weeks since Obito was cleared to leave the hospital, Naruto almost literally dragged him out of the house to interact with the Rookie Nine.

Needless to say that it could have gone better than it did.


	23. Chapter 23

"Who the heck is this?" said Kiba.

"Everyone, remember that weird mission when Hinata, Chouji and I went to inspect one of the civilian roads outside the village and the ANBU shuffled us off to the Hospital really quickly?" said Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama never explained why," said Sakura. That had annoyed her, as Tsunade didn't tend to hide things from her students.

"He is why. Meet Uchiha Obito. A kid we rescued when Celebi hijacked us in the middle of our mission and threw us into the past. And I really wish I was joking about this. Being thrown in the middle of the war between us and Iwa was not my idea of fun," said Naruto dryly.

Obito felt like he was being put under a microscope. It was only slightly less unnerving compared to Fugaku going over everything he did wrong on a mission.

In particular was the kid who looked like an Uchiha giving him the odd look.

If what he heard from Naruto was right, then this was Sasuke, the kid Mikoto-nee-chan had just given birth too when he left.

"He's still recovering from the shock of being dragged into our time, so go easy on him Ino," said Naruto.

Ino (he could tell she was a Yamanaka) pouted, but she did curtail some of the questions she had.

He still had to deal with the Gossip Princess of the village though.

Finally he couldn't take it any more as he told Sasuke "Will you quit staring at me like I have three eyes or something?! Kami, it's worse than dealing with that hard ass Fugaku!"

"You knew my father?" said Sasuke in shock

"Knew him? The man would berate me every time I came off a mission and detail everything I did wrong just because I didn't act like I had a stick up my ass like the rest of the clan and had yet to activate the stupid Sharingan!" bitched Obito.

Sasuke was still in so much shock that he barely twitched as Obito continued on about how annoying Itachi was and the fact that most of the clan hated him for being one of them.

Finally he realized what he was dealing with.

"Dear kami...you're another Naruto...only without the freaky luck..." said Sasuke in absolute shock.

Chouji shivered.

"I am never taking another mission with Naruto unless there is a jounin to tone down the weird factor we had to deal with..." he said flatly.

"It wasn't that bad..." said Hinata meekly.

"We were thrown near the end of the Iwa/Konoha war! We ran into the FOURTH HOKAGE and had to evade several people who would kill us without a second thought simply because of our Leaf headbands and rescued someone who was legally declared dead because we happened to be in the area!"

Shikamaru stared at Chouji before he looked at Naruto.

"It's official. You've broken Chouji."

"I got this. Obito, can you hand me that scroll labeled 'In case of berserk Akimichi'?" asked Naruto. Obito found and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto grinned as he unsealed something behind Chouji's back and opened the sealed bag.

Chouji's nose became hypersensitive, and he turned to Naruto with a crazed look in his eyes.

"Hand it over and no one gets hurt."

It was his favorite, limited edition chips, which only came out once a year. In one store that was hugely popular and he had to fight his own clan just to get any because of how good they were.

He had only gotten five bags, because the rest were sold out.

"How many of these bags would it take for you to forgive me for that nightmare of a mission in the past?" asked Naruto grinning.

Chouji thought it over before he held up ten fingers.

"Ten bags? Deal."

Naruto unsealed ten more bags and handed them over in addition to the one Chouji was already snacking on.

Shikamaru shook his head in amusement. Trust Naruto to buy enough of those rare chips to pacify an angry Chouji...which begged the question of why he had never considered doing the same.

It certainly would have made things easier if he had.

"What about you Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"Ano... I already forgave you Naruto. You did after all give me that egg and helped me capture a Ditto...which my father really hates for some reason."

(Little known fact: due to the perfect transformation ability of the Ditto species, it is nearly impossible for a ninja to tell it apart from the original. As a result, it is perfect for playing pranks and framing someone else. Even the Uchiha had trouble with this Pokémon, and their Sharingan could never see through its ability to shape shift. Probably why Hinata was having a lot of fun pranking her own council while she helped the Branch house out by removing their seals.)

"Meh. Ditto isn't nearly as fun as Zorua," said Naruto.

Ino looked at Naruto with disbelief.

"I would have thought it would be your perfect Pokémon! I mean it's near impossible to figure out a Ditto from the original unless you see it transform in front of you!"

"Bah, I can do that!" said Naruto.

"Prove it," countered Kiba.

"Transform!"

Now there were two Ino's. Shikamaru winced.

Naruto threw down a smoke bomb, and then switched places with Ino three times. Ino only allowed it because she wanted to see if it worked.

Obito watched with amusement as the collected Genin tried and failed to figure out which was which. Finally they had Kiba try to sniff Naruto out, unaware that he had somehow copied her scent.

Finally they gave up, and Naruto dispelled his henge...which for some reason was solid.

(Something Kiba found out the hard way when Ino punched him when he grabbed both their chests at the same time...and Naruto did it anyway. Hey, it was an excuse to hit Kiba!)

Finding out Naruto could essentially mimic anyone and get away with it...well, let's just say Obito's recovery time shot up when he realized the prank applications.

He liked pranks, because they were his hobby. Minato didn't mind them that much, and he never dared to hit Kushina-nee because she would give as good as she got.

Poor Konoha... the chances of it surviving Naruto and a very Naruto-like Uchiha were slim to none...especially since Obito technically outranked his cousin...

* * *

Tsunade looked at the current mission and twitched repeatedly. Two teams had been sent and had returned. It wasn't exactly that hard, but the conditions apparently warranted them to return. The client in question clearly didn't know how to treat Shinobi correctly if they were willing to abandon their mission.

However when she looked at the newest report of the Uzumaki/Uchiha duo and their latest prank, she had the perfect idea.

They just had to pick their reinforcements, because there was no way she was sending those two alone. That was just asking for disaster.

"Get me Naruto and Obito," she said. Shizune left to retrieve them. The look on Tsunade's face did not inspire good thoughts.

* * *

"You wanted to see us Granny?" asked Naruto nervously. Tsunade had been pissed when their last prank backfired.

"Relax boys, you aren't in trouble...yet. I'm just going to give you a mission so the villagers can get over your recent...prank..." she said sweetly.

Naturally this had both boys sweating bullets. No way was Tsunade that nice, not unless it meant something horrible was about to happen to them.

"What sort of mission?"

"An A-rank one. Normally I wouldn't give this sort of thing to a pair of chunin, but let's face it, any mission above D rank that you go on tends to get screwed up rather quickly Naruto."

Naruto chuckled and rubbed his head. This was a known fact, and Tsunade had forms made that were now a required item if someone took a mission with Naruto that was above D rank.

It basically said that the person acknowledged the risk they were taking and that any and all weirdness that occurred because of being in proximity to Naruto was not the village's fault.

As a safety precaution, the client had to sign one too.

Needless to say Naruto found this fact amusing as hell. It wasn't _his_ fault things always went to hell every time he was on a mission.

"How many can we take?" asked Obito.

"You can take up to three others, and that doesn't include Zabuza who specifically asked to be on any missions that were above C rank that involved Naruto. Why, I have no idea, but he is coming regardless," said Tsunade flatly.

"According to Haku he wants to confirm the rumor that any mission above D gets shot up by two ranks for himself. Well, that and an C or above rank mission tends to end up with my team getting more Pokémon than they left with. I have no idea why either..." said Naruto.

"In any event, go pick out three other people," said Tsunade.

"Where are we heading anyway?"

"Moon Country. Now scat!"

* * *

Naruto found his usual friends at Yakiniku Q, the best BBQ restaurant in Konoha.

Obito was preparing for his first mission since coming to the future.

He walked into the restaurant and said flatly "I have an A rank mission to Moon Country that will last a few months, and I can take three people with me. Who's interested?"

"Not it!" said Chouji.

"No thanks," said Sasuke.

"I'll go," said Hinata.

"Yosh! Count me in on this most Youthful mission!" said Lee.

"I'm coming too... You'll need someone to keep Lee from driving you crazy," said Tenten.

"I am coming... If only to keep Hinata-sama out of trouble," said Neji.

The rest said no to the mission...after they saw the form Naruto had to bring with him.

Naruto was heading back to the mission's office when he ran into Kakashi.

"I heard you have a mission to Moon with Obito."

"If you want in, sign this form on the way to the office. We have to turn these in to Tsunade before we're allowed to go, and we have to give one to the client," said Naruto flatly. He could tell why Kakashi had bothered to approach him.

He didn't want to lose Obito.

* * *

"So we have Team Gai, Hinata, Obito, Zabuza, Kakashi and Naruto on this mission. Everyone fill out the forms?" asked Tsunade.

Everyone except Naruto nodded.

"In that case, you leave tomorrow morning. You'll be meeting Prince Michiru and his son on the borders of Spring country. If you're lucky you'll catch the matinée of the new Princess Yuki movie."

"It finally came out?" said Naruto grinning.

"If I were you brat, I'd hit the casinos in Moon Country if you want to keep your cut from that movie," said Tsunade with a smirk.

"I'll give you five percent of anything I win, so long as you keep the council from taxing me," said Naruto without thinking twice.

"Deal," said Tsunade.

With Naruto's weird luck, five percent would pay off most her debts easily, and then some.

* * *

Naruto was grinning like the Chesire cat when he got to Spring. The Prince's caravan was waiting at the port, and once he had the form signed (the Prince didn't even read the fine print to the amusement of Kakashi and Naruto) they were officially on duty.

Having asked why the first two teams quit, Naruto sealed a ton of food for his team so they wouldn't feel so left out when they had to guard the Prince and his lavish banquets without being allowed to have any themselves.

Naruto had expanded on his recipe list when Obito made a random comment about how his mother used to love cooking something new and even she got tired of ramen every once in a while and she practically inhaled ramen like no one's business.

So Naruto took cooking lessons from Hinata, who had infinite patience and quickly taught Naruto when food went bad.

After years of practically surviving on ramen, Pokémon food (one of the few items they couldn't overcharge him on, less they suffer the wrath of Shifter), and the occasional meal at the Inuzuka compound (he had a standing invitation there, because of Shifter) Naruto sometimes had trouble telling when it went bad, because he had honestly eaten worse.

As such, Obito was on the ground bowing to Hinata and thanking her profusely for helping Naruto learn how to cook, because he was tired of surviving on only ramen, and he actually _liked_ ramen.

Hinata actually giggled when she saw that.

Naruto was grinning evilly when he entered the room with Prince Michiru and his son. Koyuki recognized him in a heartbeat and was gaping like a fish when the Prince left with Kakashi.

"What the hell are you doing back here?"

"I did something to piss the old lady off, and she sent me on this mission until the outcry over our last failed prank died down. The fact two teams quit before us didn't help either."

Then he showed her the form he had Michiru sign and her only comment was to ask why the Hokage hadn't made that sooner.

"So...any security problems we need to be made aware of?"

"Just a few nobles who don't like the fact I'm downsizing the military budget to help the civilians recover faster. Your contest idea was so popular that Tsurara-san is seriously considering doing it again, since it improved moral and gave them something else to focus on instead of thinking about the fact missions would be cut down," said Koyuki blandly.

"Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it," said Naruto blandly.

"What does that mean?"

"People make the same mistakes their predecessors do. Coincidentally we have a living piece of history on the team. Brought him directly from the end of the Third Shinobi war and he was legally declared dead until recently," said Naruto.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope."

"They really should have put that form out sooner..." muttered Koyuki.

"Yes, yes they should."

"By the way, I have your copies of the movie for you, since you came here. Be sure to pass them to your friends who came with you. Saves me a few ryo on sending it through the Delibird Express."

The Delibird Express... the only neutral group in the shinobi countries. Anyone stupid enough to try and steal a package from one of the hundreds of Delibird delivery Pokémon usually suffered severe injuries and the very strong chance of being blacklisted from the service. The Pokémon had _long_ memories.

It was the safest means of sending messages...though the higher the classification the more it cost to send it. The ninja who lived in Iron country weren't idiots. The more classified the document, the more people would try to steal it.

Of course you could catch a wild Delibird, but those things were ornery on the best of days.

That single thought would come back to bite Naruto in the ass much later...before they left Spring Country anyway...


	24. Chapter 24

_**Due to a large request for those who HAVEN'T been keeping track of Naruto's current team, here are all the Pokémon Naruto has so far~!**_

Shifter

**Gender:** Male

**Species:** Eevee

**Ability: **Changes to suit needs

**Special Ability:** Shifting into one of the evolutionary paths, barring the original three

**Level:** 50

Advil (Ibuprophen)

**Gender:** Male

**Species:** Golduck

**Ability:** Swift Swim

**Level:** 39

Kurama

**Gender**: Male

**Species**: Shiny Ninetails

**Ability**: Flash Fire

**Special** **Ability**: Syncronization with Nine Tailed Demon Fox, dampening chakra poisoning from Kyuubi

**Level**: 49

Kiseki

**Gender**: Female

**Species:** Absol

**Ability**: Pressure

Level: 38

Naru

**Gender**: Female

**Species**: Zorua

**Ability**: Illusion

**Level**: 29

Ayame

**Gender**: Female

**Species**: Munchlax

**Ability:** Pickup

**Special** **Ability:** Can sniff out any poison in foods

**Level**: 15

Tropic

**Gender**: Male

**Species**: Tropius

**Ability**: Solar Power

**Level**: 32

Penny

**Gender**: Female

**Species**: Piplup

**Ability:** Torrent

**Level:** 15

Bounce

**Gender**: Male

**Species**: Spheal

**Ability**: Ice Body

**Level**: 20

Croaker

**Gender**: Male

**Species**: Croagunk

**Ability**: Anticipation

**Level:** 51

**Original** **Owner**: Jiraiya

Gama

**Gender**: Male

**Species**: Politoad

**Ability**: Water Absorb

**Level**: 55

**Original** **Owner**: Jiraiya

Fury

**Gender**: Male

**Species:** Blastoise

**Ability**: Torrent

**Level:** 60

**Original** **Owner**: Jiraiya

Drifter

**Gender**: Female

**Species:** Drifblim

**Ability**: Unburden

**Level**: 65

**Original** **Owner**: Jiraiya

Gible

**Status:** Unhatched

Shiny Dratini

**Status:** Unhatched

Growlithe

**Status:** Unhatched

Ninetales

**Original Owner:** Kushina Uzumaki

Alakazam

**Original Owner:** Minato Namikaze

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza got to play with some of the idiots who thought to ambush Koyuki or the caravan. Naruto wasn't about to stop them, after all he knew that was nothing compared to what Anko could have done to them.

Which reminded him, the next time he saw her and he had a mission above C rank he was so asking her. She often complained of boredom because she rarely got the good missions.

Meanwhile Naruto kept half an eye on the caravan while waving to the occasional Snow ninja who recognized him or had heard about him. Some even came up to him with questions about the world before the Cataclysm, and as a known expert on the subject he didn't mind answering questions.

(Something Obito found fascinating, because Naruto didn't seem the type to bother learning about a subject like history without being forced. However he had never factored in Naruto's absolute love of all things Pokémon, which before the Cataclysm they were so abundant that even civvies could own one.)

So while they were in Spring, Naruto got to fully enjoy the place...unlike last time around.

And his luck once again struck true for those around him.

In the course of the week they were there, they had stopped _five_ attempts on the massive line of carriages (Naruto was immediately glad he had asked for help, because there was no way they could have handled the fifth attempt with only three people, Zabuza and Obito) and his team had gained a total of twenty new Pokémon.

(And here Naruto is very thankful that out of all the technology that was lost in the Cataclysm, the instant transfer one wasn't one of them. It allows shinobi to send newly caught Pokémon straight to home if they are over the limit set to each person. This was how Naruto managed to get most of his from Spring the first time around.)

Naruto was just glad he didn't have any more to put on his team, as his house was starting to get full at the moment.

He planned to add another habitat to his plot, with Tsunade's permission. At the moment it was only equipped for nine of the 17 types.

He was hoping to make it an even 10.

Right as he was about to head in from his shift, he noted a Delibird running on it's feet rather quickly.

Assuming it had a delivery to make, Naruto waited for it to pass. Instead it barreled right into him, looking freaked out.

A quick look behind told him all he needed to know. Apparently it was a wild Delibird and someone wanted to catch it to save on shipping costs. Naruto repressed a sigh and told Naru to lead the offending party away.

Since the Zorua considered it a funny prank, she giggled as she did just that, taking great care to make the idiot run into walls a few times.

By the time he caught on he was in a genjutsu (he really should have guessed that after the third time he ran right into a pole) Naruto and the terrified Delibird were long gone.

Hinata took one look at the Delibird, and took the logical assumption.

"Another stray Naruto-kun?"

"Nah. Some idiot was trying to catch the poor thing so I rescued it. It was terrified."

Once he had the Delibird fed and watered, he took it to the edge of the Ice Zone (as the permanently frozen mountain was now called since it was the only remnant of Snow Country) and released it.

He had an idea of why it was the only area still covered in snow, but he didn't want to piss off the Pokémon responsible by attracting attention to it.

* * *

For the next few days, Naruto caught a glimpse of something on the edge of his vision, but he could never figure out what it was. When they were finally about to leave, Naruto barely managed to brace himself as a red and white blur tackled him.

It was the Delibird he saved!

"...Do you want to join us little one?" he asked. He could tell it was a girl by looking at it.

"Deli!"

"Okay. In that case you can sit in my pack for a while until we leave Spring."

(Ayame was currently with Anko learning different poisons and how to tell the deadly ones from the irritating ones. Naruto learned by accident she could detect poisons in food, which was why he left her with Anko.)

The Delibird hopped into the open bag and only it's head showed.

Naruto kept most of his gear sealed away, and brought the bag mostly so his team could occasionally crash outside the Seal Ball.

Most of the time it was Naru, but she was currently practicing her illusions again...in human form.

"So Prince, where exactly are we heading to next?" asked Naruto.

In order to keep the fighting down, Naruto and Hinata took turns cooking meals for the team. When one of the chefs tried it later he admitted it was better than his own.

That was probably the _only_ reason that they had survived longer than the first two groups...well that and Naruto had quickly gotten in the habit of stocking up food at every town. Anything they had on sale that he could cook was immediately bought and sealed.

(Naruto bought in bulk for one reason. Anything sealed properly by someone who knew what they were doing was kept in stasis until removed. As a result, he now had a ton of perishable items like ice cream sealed away in a cold storage seal. And, to the amusement of his entire team, fifty bowls of Ichiraku Ramen sealed in an '_emergency_!' seal.)

"There's a special tournament in Grass Country," said the Prince excitedly.

"What kind of tournament?" asked Hinata.

"I heard they are planning to start up a special Pokémon tournament that is open to the public! Apparently they heard about it from someone in Spring!"

Naruto had a baaad feeling about this.

"Did this tournament thing happen to be called a Pokémon Contest?" he asked.

"That was it!"

Naruto felt like banging his head on something. As a known expert of Pre-Cataclysm events, he would undoubtedly be roped in as judge _again._

* * *

Naruto made a point to hide his distinctive blond hair and changed out of his orange outfit to the confusion of the others. When Hinata asked why, his answer had her laughing.

"I don't want to be recognized as the same Naruto Uzumaki who wrote those Pre-Cataclysm books..."

He had dyed his hair a bright red color the shade of a tomato, and changed into a more sedate red shirt to the relief of his team. Orange was well known for causing headaches if stared at too long...and Naruto was at the front of the pack.

There was a reason why everyone had brought headache relief in bulk while on a mission with him.

Naruto didn't actually mind Grass country...though he did wonder why he kept feeling this weird tug towards certain directions.

So, when half the team watched the carriage, the other half explored/shopped for supplies.

Ninja gear was off limits in other villages, but food and books weren't, so long as they were allowed to civilians.

Needless to say Naruto hit the bookstore history section pretty hard.

Unfortunately for him, he was recognized as the same Uzumaki Naruto who wrote the books.

Fortunately for him, they already had their judges picked for the event...though they said they would appreciate his input afterwords.

Considering it meant he wouldn't die of boredom while looking for flaws, Naruto could agree to that...even if he ended up roped into a signing session once the bookstore owner learned who he was.

Those from Konoha weren't helping when they laughed themselves sick once they knew what was taking him so long.

Of course the Prince ended up asking for a signed copy of said books once he knew what was actually going on. He clearly didn't expect to be in the presence of a famous author of history books.

(The only reason he wasn't outed in Spring was because people were more interested in his movie role/help in defeating their previous Daimyo and bringing them some positive notoriety as the first official holder of the Pokémon contest.)

All of his annoyance about the whole thing changed when Shifter suddenly perked up and turned into Espeon under the table.

"_Naruto, I smell an Uzumaki."_

Shifter had gotten a good whiff of the odd scent the Uzumaki clan had in Whirlpool. He had never noticed it because he was so used to Naruto's scent.

However Tsunade did confirm she was half Uzumaki on her grandmother's side, making her Naruto's cousin. Which was the only reason Shifter knew what that scent meant.

Apparently living near the former resting place of Lugia gave the entire clan a specific underlying tone that one had to be looking for to catch.

As such, when a girl with bright red hair and glasses came into the shop, Shifter immediately honed in on her. Naruto had heard off hand from Tsunade that most Uzumaki had red hair of some shade...and they were among the rare exceptions to this rule.

"Hello! Who should I make it out to?" he asked.

"Karin."

"Karin _Uzumaki_?" he asked, putting stress on the last name.

The girl blinked twice.

"How did you...?" she asked in surprise.

"Shifter could tell. I'm an Uzumaki too...according to the old lady I inherited my dad's hair instead of mom's."

He noted some odd bite marks on her arms, but didn't say a word. They chatted for a bit (Karin making a note to come up with a good excuse to visit Leaf within the next few months) before she left, looking much happier than before.

He later learned she had been placed under permanent assignment for a shinobi exchange between the villages to keep their friendship up. In exchange the Leaf village sent some more missions to Kusa.

* * *

Naruto was in the audience (front row, with the best view of the stage) and he was rather excited. Last time he had been rather bored out of his mind as an acting judge of the contest. (He had hidden it rather well.)

This time he could actually enjoy it! The Prince was well guarded by Kakashi, Neji and Tenten while Hinata and Obito were next to him. Zabuza and Lee were keeping an eye on the carriages.

To the horror of the group, Zabuza had in a fit of boredom started to teach Lee the silent killing technique. (Well, that and in the hope that it would get the brat to shut up.) This was actually bad because it made Lee more annoying.

Because he was naturally _good_ at the silent killing technique. He kept sneaking up behind Neji and scaring him for fun.

It had the added bonus of getting Naruto to laugh too.

Naruto cheered as loud as any of the civvies, but afterwords he got to speak to the contestants personally.

They seemed to be really pleased by his praise, and the few issues he had with their performance was taken with a grain of salt. After all, Naruto had earned a reputation of knowing his Pokémon, and very few people could write an approved history book for ninja academies.

(Naruto would later look at his own work in horror when he learned that it was now the Academy standard for pre-Cataclysm history class. Iruka still laughed about it.)

Once the Contest was over, Naruto went to the Prince to ask where their next stop was...and the destination had him cackling from the rear of the group.

The Suna Festival, known for also hosting the once a year Ramen Festival that had a hundred different types of ramen. Naruto had heard rumors of it (Gaara confirmed them to the boy's delight) but had never seen it himself.

The Third Hokage barely managed to keep Naruto _in_ the village when he first heard of it. After that his ANBU guard tripled every time it came around to keep the boy from leaving.

That is, until Hana and Anko found the best deterent. They simply gave him a difficult jutsu to keep when he was nine (he learned about the festival when he was 6) and it usually took him a week to figure out how to use it. By that time the festival was over.

Surprisingly, Naruto didn't mind the bribe.

* * *

"Naruto."

"Hey Gaara! How are Chomper and Nozomi?"

Gaara's grin was slighting worry to those who weren't used to his less homicidal self.

Naruto soon found out why.

Chomper...was now a Tyranitar.

"Good grief! What did you feed him?!"

"Idiots and perverts."

"Oh, in that case it's completely acceptable," said Naruto.

The two laughed at that.

"So how have you been Gaara?" asked Naruto as they headed into the festival.

"Bored, mostly. I'm being considered for Jounin. And it appears your luck has rubbed off on me, because I now have a full team."

"Really? Most people curse my luck. In fact the old lady made a form people have to sign before they can go on missions with me," said Naruto.

Gaara grinned at that.

"What took them so long?"

"So who's on your team?"

"Chomper, Nozomi, Nightmare, Usagi, Tsuki and Digger," said Gaara.

"I have Shifter, Delia (Delibird), Naru, Kurama, and Croaker."

"Isn't Croaker Jiraiya's?" asked Gaara.

"Yeah, but the Ero-sannin gave me his old team and got some new eggs so he can start over. Apparently it was either that, or have to deal with his old team ignoring him even though he has the badges for them to listen to him."

"That reminds me, are you going to join the Ranking Festival?" asked Gaara.

"Ranking Festival?" asked Hinata.

"In order to keep the amount of foreign shinobi in the village to a minimum, the last Kazekage created a Ranking Festival to go along with the Suna Festival. It doubles as the Ranking exams for us, so we don't have scheduling conflicts with the Chunin exams."

Kakashi knew what was on Naruto's mind. So he asked a question.

"Is it any different from Konoha's?"

"Actually yes. In Suna you can make teams of three with different villages. At least that's what Temari told me."

Naruto's eyes gleamed. It wouldn't be hard to join the exam, since the Prince planned to stay for a few weeks...and Naruto could easily convince him to stay around to watch the ninja he hired.

Besides, it was an excuse to hang around Gaara!

"Excuse me a minute..." said Naruto.

"Oh boy... Gaara, are you part of the Ranking exams?"

"No. Though there was a serious debate to have me as the Suna Master. Apparently Chunin aren't allowed to stand in. Jounin, yes, but not chunin," said Gaara.

"Then you better prepare...Naruto clearly plans to drag you and one other into the exam. My bet is on Obito."

Gaara grinned.


	25. Chapter 25

Naruto was in ramen heaven. Because the Suna Council preferred to get everything out of the way in order to minimize the outsider influence, they had their Ranking Exam during the Ramen Festival. Kakashi had promised to buy fifty bowls of ramen for the boy if he managed to get the Wind Master badge.

What Naruto didn't know was that earning an Village master badge had a side benefit for foreign shinobi.

If he earned that, he was allowed to get rare wind style scrolls preselected by Suna Jounin, even if he wasn't from Suna. It was one of the few reasons that shinobi from other villages tried out for ranking exams outside their village, even if they didn't get anything out of it aside from a few badges.

They got scrolls that were normally kept 'in-house' as it were.

Kakashi's main reason for allowing Naruto to actually join this exam was simple really. He heard Kurenai had tested his chakra affinity less than a week of having the kids, and Naruto had gotten wind with some earth and water. She sent him to Asuma for Wind training, and he was making great progress.

Considering Kakashi was willing to feed his ramen addiction, Naruto made a point to get Gaara and Hinata on his team. She was a water type, but since there was an abundance of those in Konoha, she would help Naruto get more scrolls in exchange for some rare Pokémon on her team. It was a fair trade.

Gaara just wanted to be on the same team as Naruto because he had heard about his luck and how every time he went on a C or above mission, the team came back with an even larger Pokémon team than when they left. He had only gotten a full team through patience and he wanted some variety. Most people were terrified of Chomper now, since his reputation of biting people in the ass had yet to go away.

The fact Gaara 'encouraged' Chomper to give certain people speculative looks did not help either. Temari only allowed it because most of the time those people turned out to be complete dicks that needed to be reminded who the ninja was.

Kankuro was still too terrified to sleep anywhere near Chomper when he was outside the seal ball.

(Temari had put her foot down and made Gaara put his first Pokémon in a seal ball when he evolved into Tyranitar. He was simply too big to fit in the gourd now, now matter how much Gaara wanted to claim strength training.)

At least Nozomi still lived in the gourd. She was his best snuggle buddy since the seal was fixed.

(Temari would later trade Naruto pictures of this in exchange for Jiraiya signing her books.)

* * *

Naruto once again aced the computer exams. Even if the subject was slightly different (this time focusing more on terrain and attacks, and he would learn later that was the exam for jounin applicants) he still got a perfect score.

Gaara got a slightly lower score (he had only missed one, to the amusement of Naruto) and Hinata came in fifth. To be fair, she had less time to read the same books the boys did. And her family only let her train her team _her_ way if she was outside the compound.

As it was, her Lucario had a deep distaste for the Hyuuga elders. When Hinata finally gave up hope on those idiots and lead a mass rebellion, Rio would be at the forefront of the attacks.

It really, _really_ didn't like the elders.

When they were lead out to the survival area (a large portion of the desert with a few man made oasis strategically placed) Naruto noted something in the distance.

"What the heck is that?"

"Scoreboard," said Gaara unconcerned.

"Come again?" said Naruto, not sure he heard that right.

"Unlike Konoha, here you have to fight your fellow examinees in order to pass. Capturing adds to the score total, but the main way to pass is to beat the others. Healing stations are at the oasis, and the transfer system is put on a restriction to three switch outs for three Pokémon."

"So when does the Wind Master come into play?" asked Hinata.

"Those with the highest scores get taken to a special arena where they battle the Wind Master for the coveted Wind Badge. Beat the Master, and you automatically pass the exam and get to skip the third portion," said Gaara.

"Is this teamwork oriented?" asked Naruto.

"Double battles are acceptable, but the full team can't gang up on the Master. You and Hinata could team up and I deal with him after you," said Gaara.

"Hmm... I have a plan. Hinata, you stick close to me until we get to the Wind Master stage, and we'll double battle him. In the meantime, help me look for a Trapinch," said Naruto.

"Why Trapinch?" asked Hinata.

"Present for Shino. Said he would trade one of his family's Combee for a Trapinch."

"Why would you want a Combee?" asked Gaara.

"Free honey. If you build a hive for Combee, more gather and make a ton of it. Do you have any idea how much Honey costs at the store?" said Naruto.

"I didn't know you liked honey Naruto," said Hinata.

"It's a Pokémon attractant. Plus I like sweet things."

Gaara noted with amusement at the small amount of blood coming from Hinata's nose and correctly guessed the reason why.

* * *

Four days later, Naruto, Hinata and Gaara were lead into the Wind Master area, having beaten everyone else in the grounds at least once.

Naruto had added to his team, though only three this time. He had found a brother and sister Trapinch, and, unwilling to separate them had caught both. After that he ran into a baby Cubone who had recently hatched, and had taken it in.

He planned to keep the mischievous boy Trapinch, as the sweet tempered sister would be perfect for Shino.

Gaara was rather pleased with his newest catch.

A Vibrava, Lunatone and Corphish (it had ended up in an oasis by mistake and was unable to leave) were now his newest additions.

Hinata was happy with her new team Pokémon, even if she had filled her original one up months ago thanks to Naruto's luck.

She had a happy-go-lucky Cacnea, a lazy Onix, and a shy Nidoran (female).

They had only used the transfer system once (and that was only because Hinata wanted her new Nidoran on her immediate team and Naruto wanted his baby Cubone on his) and because Naruto kept a good stock of healing supplies, they never had to stop for aid.

(Gaara neglected to tell them that it had a limited supply available...didn't stop Naruto from raiding it for extras anyway. Besides, it was cheaper than buying antidotes for Wind Country poisons.)

As it was, Kakashi had left a message for Naruto and Hinata that they would be leaving as soon as they passed the exam. Apparently the client was getting bored and had heard of a circus with a saber toothed tiger. They were heading that way soon.

Naruto really didn't want to deal with a pissy Tsunade because he had gone into the exam while on a mission. The only reason he was even allowed in was because the team was large enough to cover them and the client had cleared it.

He still had no idea what that form was though.

As Naruto and Hinata decimated the poor Jounin (who was already sweating bullets because he had to face Chomper next) Gaara was off to the side reading one of Naruto's books. For someone who hated reading Shinobi history, he could write an interesting pre-Cataclysm book.

It was one of the few classes that the entire class enjoyed. Probably because Naruto hated reading boring books, so he tried to keep it interesting. It was an odd combination that worked.

Gaara finally went, and as predicted the fight wasn't long. Chomper was one of the few Tyranitar's in the village, and easily the biggest.

This was because Gaara took immaculate care of his friend, and the Everstone he had put on the Larvitar's neck had fallen off at the perfect time.

By the time the match ended, Gaara was no longer as bored. Naruto casually walked up to Gaara.

"So when do we get our shiny new badges?"

"Tomorrow, before lunch. Aiming that last Spike Cannon was rather amusing by the way."

"Did you see the way he looked like he was about to cry?" cackled Naruto. Gaara grinned...Naruto had been aiming low. Very low for a guy anyway.

* * *

Gaara and Naruto were eating ramen when the Delibird brought them the badges. It was the last night of the ramen festival, and Naruto intended to enjoy it.

Naruto stared at his shiny new badge and a thought occurred to him.

"Only three more to go," he said.

"Three more what?"

"Master Badges. I get three more, and I get in the running for the Hokage seat."

Gaara stared at him.

"Why would you need Master badges to become Hokage?"

Naruto went into what would later be called his 'History Mode'.

"Back before the Cataclysm, there were four trainers called the Elite Four. Now those who were able to beat those 4 trainers were given the chance to fight the Champion. If they beat him, they were considered Elite Pokémon Trainers and their names went down in history. When they recreated the Gyms of old through Ranking contests, it was agreed that should anyone ever succeed in getting all five Master badges from the five biggest villages, they would be placed in the running for the Kage of their village."

"And since you would have trouble earning it the usual way, you decided to try the one no one has ever succeeded at?" said Gaara.

"I already have two. Just need three more."

"Do you really believe your village would allow you to become Kage?"

"The previous Mizukage was like us, so I don't see why not," said Naruto.

"...What?"

"Zabuza mentioned it. Said Yagura was like us, only he had the three tails."

"I never knew that," said Gaara.

Naruto nodded.

"Anyway I have to join my team. I'll have Delia send you mail," said Naruto.

"Only you would stumble onto a Delibird in trouble. Still, at least you don't have to deal with former nukenin just to send messages," said Gaara.

The Delibird Express was run almost exclusively by former ninja. The only reason the Iron Samurai didn't kick them out was because in exchange for letting the ninja run the business in known neutral territory, they got a good cut.

Naruto grinned and gave Gaara a thumbs up as he walked towards the caravan. Gaara gave him a wave back.

* * *

Naruto was quick to declare "NOT IT!" when it came time to guard the caravan. He wanted to see the circus too!

"Damn you..." said Zabuza. Mainly because he wasn't quick enough to avoid getting roped into guard duty.

On the plus side, being around the brat managed to finally land him a Lapras, which he had been wanting for years, but never had the time to find.

Already the volunteering to join the brat was worth it.

Still, at least he had something to do, as Naruto had provided entertainment in the form of a fantasy novel he was writing. Apparently writing was quickly becoming his best source of income, so Naruto decided to branch out.

Zabuza didn't mind proofreading for the brat, because for the most part it didn't have many errors. Unlike _Icha Icha,_ Naruto had a basic idea of what grammar and spelling was.

Naruto fully planned to knock Jiraiya's crappy books off the top spot.

He heard clapping, and saw the chibi patrol come out.

"We're changing shifts," said Naruto.

Zabuza grinned. He tossed the manuscript back to the blonde.

"No errors I could see, and it was a good read," he said.

Naruto grinned. He pulled out a whistle and waited for Zabuza to leave before he blew it. A Pidgeotto appeared with the Delibird Express vest on it.

Naruto wrapped the manuscript and tossed it in the air. It had the publisher's address on it and a note inside. The Pidgeotto snatched the package and left.

* * *

Naruto was about to board the boat when he heard a cry. He held out his hand and a letter dropped. He read it and grinned. The Pidgeotto landed on his arm and he paid it a tip in cash and Flying-Type treats. The bird Pokémon thanked him before flying off.

"What was that about Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"Publisher accepted the new novel. Should be out by the time we get back. And everyone on this mission with me gets a free copy."

"And yet another reason why I like you brat," said Zabuza.

"What was it about?" asked Kakashi.

"...You didn't read the copy I lent you?" said Naruto disappointed.

"He read that third rate porn again," said Neji.

Naruto twitched.

"Sannin or not, that crap he puts out offends me greatly. Read it around me at your own peril," growled Naruto.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Offends the author in you, eh brat?" snickered Zabuza.

"Damn straight it does! I've seen his mission reports and some of his spy reports! It's so full of errors that it makes me gag!"

"Plus I have Croaker with me too, and he loves to Poison Jab anyone he sees reading it," said Naruto.

Obito laughed at the look on Kakashi's face. He had been the first one to read Naruto's new book and he loved it. The two acted like brothers, with Obito the older.

They got along better than Kakashi ever did. It was a miracle.

Plus there was the fact they both loved pranks. Kakashi had kept count of how many times someone had been pranked on the way to Moon, and so far the number was 137. Not bad for a pair of brats.

"DAMMIT! I HATE STORMS!" roared Naruto.

"This coming from the kid named Maelstrom?" retorted Obito.

"BITE ME!"

Finally Naruto got fed up and took out his flute. With the way things were going, he would sweat to Arceus that this was Lugia's doing.

"What are you doing?!" shouted Zabuza. He was used to storms on sea, but not this bad.

"Calming Lugia down! Every time one comes up, a forty day storm crops up soon after!" yelled Naruto.

(Play flute song from Pokémon 2000)

The storm slowly started to calm down, but only a little. It was enough for the captain to get the ship under control and the circus to get the animals in. They nearly lost Chamm and Kiki, if not for the actions of the Prince's son and Obito.

(Naruto was too busy keeping the storm calm through his flute.)


	26. Chapter 26

Naruto was on edge the second they set foot on the island.

The place was a popular vacation spot, yet he hadn't seen a single person aside from the harbor workers. It was so suspicious that the entire team picked up on it.

"What's up Naruto?" asked Obito.

"Too quiet. Tell the ringmaster not to make too much noise. We don't want much attention," said Naruto. His eyes were sharp, and his attentiveness had shot up.

The Prince didn't understand why the shinobi were all on edge.

"What's up blondie?" said Zabuza.

"The air is too quiet. Something isn't right."

"What is bothering you Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"Moon Country is a highly popular vacation spot isn't it? So where are all the people? Where is the noise from the casinos? There should be people out, but the air is quiet like the beginning of a storm about to hit," said Naruto.

"We're stuck here until that Lugia goes back under," said Kakashi.

"Right. Hinata, Obito, Zabuza, Lee, head off into the woods. If there _is_ trouble, they don't need to know our full numbers. I may be paranoid, but I'm not a complete idiot," said Naruto.

"You're not an idiot. And now that you mention it, it is far too quiet," said Kakashi.

The four split off discreetly, and vanished.

* * *

"Dammit, I hate being right like that," said Naruto. They had barely made an escape from the palace.

And Naruto had been entirely correct in having the group split off. There was an ambush waiting for them. The King was nearly dead, even though Naruto and Naru were doing their best to save him.

"Dammit! I don't know what this is, but I am not about to lose a patient!" said Naruto. He reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out...a Full Restore?

He looked at it, then at the King.

"In for a ryo and all that," he muttered. Not like a simple Full Restore would reverse the stone damage, right?

He sprayed the stone with the mix...and to his surprise it looked like the Full Restore was actually reversing the transformation!

"What the... Naru, hand me some more Full Restore! I think we might be able to save the old man!" said Naruto.

Naru kept passing him Full Restores, and Naruto sprayed every inch he could. The stone slowly vanished while Hinata did her best to ease the King's pain.

In the end it was little use. The King's heart was simply too weak after being stuck in stone for so long. Naruto took comfort in the fact he had at least made the king's passing a peaceful one.

* * *

"So what's the plan Fox boy?" asked Zabuza.

"These creeps are more or less controlling the harbor. And it wouldn't make a difference anyway with that Lugia out there causing a storm," said Naruto.

"I doubt they know about that," said Neji.

"True... I got it. We draw them out and ambush them. I got some chakra suppressors and my henge is damn near impossible to detect. One of us plays the Prince and his son. The others will hide at strategic points to attack once the trick is up," said Naruto.

"He has a point. My Sharingan can't see through that henge of his, and with seals hiding his chakra, they won't be able to figure it out," said Kakashi.

"Our Byakugan can't see it either," said Neji.

"It's settled..." said Kakashi, who had Lee, Zabuza and Neji hid in certain points on the beach. Hinata would play the Prince's son, while Naruto played the guards. Kakashi would pretend to help guard the Prince...who was being played by a clone of Kakashi's.

* * *

Naruto waited for the opportune moment to spring the trap. That moment came when the four ninja tried to ambush them.

Because he had noticed one of the shinobi was a poison user, he had Shifter in Espeon form.

The woman the first to note that something was off.

"Go Acideon!" she barked.

A purple mist erupted from the seal ball, and Naruto knew without being told it was the Poison evolutionary form of the Eevee.

He grinned...this trip was more productive than he hoped!

"Shifter, Bite!"

"Espeon!"

And with that, the battle began.

"It's a trap!" yelled the one with stone powers.

More Pokémon joined the fray, as Lee's Poliwrath threw boulders the size of Neji's Kaiten. Naruto wasn't surprise that every Pokémon on Lee's team knew Strength. Or that his Tyrogue had evolved into Hitmonlee.

The stone user snarled, and brought out a second Pokémon after Shifter made quick work of the first.

"Kill that freaky Eevee, Duneon!"

The new Pokémon appeared to be the Rock evolution of Eevee.

"Shifter, get him! Use Iron Tail!"

"Ada!"

The spiked ball slammed into the Rock type, causing it to flinch from pain.

Naruto grinned evilly now.

"Shifter, Bite attack!"

The Steel form of Shifter bit hard, and the evolutionary data for the Rock form was absorbed. Naruto was normally not this cruel, but he had seen the palace Pokémon after this bastard had gotten through with them. Their deaths had been painful and very slow. He had only managed to save one, and even that poor thing was still in pain!

So yes, his natural kindness was sorely lacking right now. He had already put down that Poison type hard.

The man snarled and prepared to use the eye on his hand on Naruto. The blond wasn't having any of that.

"Neji, Hinata, incoming!"

He copied Lee's kick and sent the man flying. The two cousins worked as a harmonious team as they shut his tenketsu off painfully.

Depending on how this went, they could be collecting a sizable bounty. He was the only one that interested Naruto, with that weird hand of his.

The other two managed to escape, but they never thought to retrieve their Pokémon partners. Naruto growled... he would never leave part of his team behind. He could see the hurt in their eyes.

Shifter slowly walked up to them an explained their options. The two Eeveelutions were given the quiet option of hearing their partner's explanation for why they were left behind.

If they did it to save their own skins and could care less about them, then Naruto planned to leave them with the Prince and his son as protectors. At least he knew Hikaru would be willing to befriend the poor things.

* * *

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THE PRINCE WAS CAPTURED?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THEM!" _yelled Naruto.

Obito winced at the volume while Tenten looked away embarrassed.

"Alright Tenten, why don't we hear your excuse first. It's more likely to be believable," said Naruto after calming down slightly. He did not look happy.

"They were talking about shinies and the Prince went to take a leak. Obito said he would go with him but apparently someone got him in his blind spot..." she said quickly.

"Tenten, if you can successfully retrieve the Prince or his son, I will help you find a Cyndaquil. Obito, I will see if I can convince Anko to part with one of her Dratini eggs if you capture the ones who knocked you out," said Naruto.

"Deal!" said the pair eagerly. They knew of Naruto's bizarre luck when it came to acquiring new Pokémon for his friends.

* * *

Zabuza was a happy camper. Thanks to the blond brat, he now had a Lapras, Gyarados, Farfetch'd and Seadra. All of which would have taken months to find and catch on his own.

Even Kakashi got another for his team. Even if it was a common Pidgey that kept harassing him to death. (Naruto had gotten a good laugh out of that, saying that maybe he should change his name since he couldn't keep the Pidgeys away. Kakashi had strung him upside for the comment along with the laughing Obito.)

So far Naruto was coordinating with the loyal Guards so that they could infiltrate and rescue the Prince. Naruto didn't really worry about Hikaru, mostly because he knew Chamu would help to protect the runt. One look at that tiger, and most non-shinobi trained forces would run.

Plus it really didn't hurt that one of the newly hatched Growlithe pups had seen Hikaru trying repeatedly to befriend that ornery tiger, and had been impressed by the kid's courage.

Naruto planned to see if that little runt could be convinced to stick by Hikaru's side. In the meantime he brought out the Duneon and introduced Hikaru to the tiny Pokémon.

It amused him greatly to see the little guy curl into Hikaru's touch...apparently the jerk with the stone powers never really treated him right. The Poison one hissed whenever anyone came too close to it.

* * *

Kakashi, Obito and Neji went with the circus. They were the distraction team. Lee, Zabuza, Tenten, Hinata, and Naruto were going to rescue the Prince and deal with whoever nabbed him when they fought on the beach. If they were really lucky, one of the soldiers did it. Otherwise they would be dealing with more shinobi.

Naruto was really hoping for a lucky soldier.

Hinata shivered...if things went badly this could be her first kill. Naruto hugged her gently just in case. Hinata was a gentle soul. She was better suited to healing to fighting from a distance than like a Hyuuga did.

With that little bit of comfort, Hinata stopped shivering. Rio was already out and ready to fight.

They stalked into the main hall, only to find the way blocked. It was that nut who attacked Lee!

"Lee, he's all yours. Next hall!" said Naruto. Lee grinned broadly.

Tenten threw a kunai at the wall, revealing the genjutsu user from earlier. Hinata joined Tenten as Naruto had the others go on ahead. The jerk with the stone hand was still safely imprisoned by several Pokémon who were under orders to freeze him should he try anything. Delia looked particularly eager to try out her recently learned Blizzard attack.

"That kid's all yours Hinata, Tenten!" said Naruto.

"KID?! DO I LOOK LIKE A KID TO YOU?!" screeched the girl.

Naruto snickered. His patented annoyance technique worked ever time!

Zabuza and Naruto ran up to the next level.

"So Zabuza, how do you like this mission so far?" asked Naruto grinning.

"Kid, if this is how your missions go, then count me in again! That stupid form was worth it for this kind of fun!" grinned Zabuza.

"And the fact you've caught around seven new Pokémon...?" grinned Naruto.

"Ha! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to find a Lapras?" cackled Zabuza.

Naruto grinned at him.

They came onto the landing that was in open air. There, they came across two other shinobi, who they didn't notice.

"Kid, you get the Prince. I'll deal with these idiots," grinned Zabuza.

"Go Gyro!" said Zabuza smirking.

"DOS!"

The long serpentine form of Gyarados nearly knocked Naruto off the landing. He ran along the spine of the Water-type to get past the shinobi. On his back was Hikaru, because that was honestly the safest place to be.

The board holding Michiru was beginning to break.

"Papa!" cried Hikaru.

"Hold on Hikaru! We're taking the express way up!" said Naruto. He held onto the kid princess style and ran right up the tower wall. Below he could hear Chamu running up the stairs and generally trying to reach Hikaru.

Once they got up to the top, Chamu was waiting.

"Chamu, you help Hikaru! I'll go help Zabuza!" said Naruto. The saber-toothed tiger roared.

Naruto dropped down and made sure to throw Shifter's ball so it would open on the ground.

"Shifter, Psychic!" yelled Naruto.

"Espeon!"

The red jewel glowed brightly as the telekinesis caught him mid fall.

Naruto didn't need to see Zabuza to know where the enemy shinobi were. The cries alone did that. He grinned.

"Shifter, Pin Missile!"

"Teon!"

Shifter switched to his Steel form and started to shoot out red hot pins. Zabuza heard Naruto's voice and avoided most of them, but the enemy shinobi weren't so lucky.

One of them couldn't quite stand up after being hit.

The other got his head cut off by Kubikiri Houcho.

"I yield!" cried the one who couldn't stand.

All around them, were cries of battle. Naruto noticed that the rope above them was cut, and Michiru was going to fall to his death...if Naruto hadn't cushioned it with a ton of shadow clones for him to fall into.

Since the other shinobi was incapacitated and the rest were out of commission, the only thing left to do was to deal with the ringleader of this whole mess...

* * *

Shabadaba was killed in a quiet ceremony along with several others. Two of the shinobi he hired to take out the king were put under a specific seal and ended up serving Michiru. The one Naruto took out with a Pin Missile attack decided to try his luck in Konoha. He used to be an Iwa ninja, but after the third war he grew disillusions with the Will of Stone.

Considering he didn't mind working for former enemies, and all he had done was capture Michiru (according to the new King, he was a lot more friendly than the one Zabuza killed off), Kakashi was willing to give the man a chance.

Besides, he knew a rare kinjustu from Iwa.

"So why are we still here?" asked Zabuza.

"Kakashi overused the Sharingan. He'll be bedridden for a few weeks, so we'll be staying here," said Obito grinning.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but does this mean what I think it means?" asked Tenten, eyes gleaming.

"VACATION TIME!" cheered the younger shinobi. Even Zabuza was grinning under his mask.

"Hey, did you guys know that this country is the biggest exporter of Moon Stones?" grinned Naruto.

"Really?" said Hinata.

"Yup. You know what that means don't you?"

"Where Moon Stones are..." started Tenten.

"Clefairy and Jigglypuff gather, among others!" said Hinata grinning. She always wanted a Jigglypuff or Clefairy.

"We're going hunting for them later," Naruto promised.

* * *

_**I didn't write the fight scenes cause to be honest, this chapter was hard enough to get out. Next chapter you get to see one of the pairings for this story. Now my question to you is should I make a separate fic for Naruto's journey into the past before the Cataclysm? Also, since people keep asking about the picture, I found it on Bing Images by typing in Eeveelutions.  
**_


	27. Chapter 27

Naruto was about to take his team to the beach when he heard a familiar cry.

"Oh no, not again! We earned this vacation!" he complained.

Celebi was back. The green fairy Pokémon appeared before him and Shifter went Psychic to translate.

"_Uzumaki Naruto, bring two friends with you. Believe me, you'll need collaborators for a week after you return home. Someone has to take care of those in your team."_

"So I'm going to Pre-Cataclysm Elemental Countries a week after my vacation? I can live with that!"

"_Yes, but you'll need someone to bring your reports back as well as any new Pokémon you capture. Once you pick two others, they will be given a pendant so they can contact me. You have an hour," _said Celebi.

Naruto immediately rounded up Obito and Hinata. They were the only two he trusted to keep his Pokémon alive while he was gone. Plus after seeing Hinata in a bikini (to Neji's absolute horror) Naruto had started to see her in an entirely different light.

Or as Kakashi said in a conspirator tone to Zabuza, Naruto had finally discovered hormones. To be fair, Sakura Haruno was flat as a board, where as Hinata had started to develop very early.

A few days after that, Naruto asked Hinata out, and she promptly fainted. Ever since the two had been holding hands occasionally, with Neji keeping a not-so-discreet watch over the two of them. Even after Kakashi had a word with the boy.

* * *

"So what's this about Naruto?" asked Obito.

"You know how I rescued you right?"

"Yeah, you said you were highjacked by Celebi. If it wasn't for the fact that I clearly remember the rubble and waking up with Tsunade as Hokage and Kakashi much older than I remembered, I wouldn't have believed it. Why?"

"The Legendary Pokémon want me to do something. Celebi just showed up and told me to grab two others to act as my contacts when they send me into the far past."

"How far are we talking about Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata. She was much less shy since Naruto asked her out. In his words, he liked the weird girls more than he did the violent loud ones.

"Before the Cataclysm," said Naruto flatly. He paused when he heard the familiar cry of Celebi. The green fairy Pokémon lead them deep into the mountains, though thankfully no where near the old king had died.

Shifter was on Naruto's head, Rio was walking along with Hinata, and Giggles (Obito's Aipom) was busy playing with Obito's goggles.

"So why us?" asked Obito.

"Because I happen to like Hinata (she's already keyed into my house seals) and you already live in the house and I don't have to add you. Besides, this way you don't have to apartment shop," said Naruto bluntly.

"True...plus your Pokémon already know me," said Obito.

"And once I get back, I know the house will be reasonably clean and the fridge fully stocked!" said Naruto proudly.

"You suck. I'm your live-in genin team until you get back?"

"Dude, you don't have to pay rent and I've got it set up so that any utilities and taxes are paid directly from my account. All you have to do is keep the place clean and make sure my team is still alive when I get back," Naruto deadpanned.

"No rent or utilities? How do you plan to pay for all that while you're away?" asked Obito. He had to admit, the offer was extremely tempting.

"Duh, the cash I get from selling all those books. Do you really think I would stop writing once I go into the past? Coincidentally, which of you wants to be to one to deal with the publishers for me?"

"I'll do it," said Hinata.

"For that, you get to be the heroine of the next book!" said Naruto grinning.

Hinata blushed.

Any further banter stopped once they realized who they were going to meet.

It was Suicune, Entei and Raikou.

"_Good, you made it here,"_ said Suicune. He rather liked Naruto. Each of the three great cats moved before one of the shinobi.

Suicune stood before Hinata, Entei to Obito, and Raikou to Naruto. All three dropped a single jewel, glowing from an internal light.

Hinata was given a pure sapphire, it felt cool to the touch, but in that cool was a sense of relief, like a wet cloth when you had a fever, or cold water on a burn. This felt like the healing touch of someone who cared.

Obito was given a ruby, hot like a warm cup of tea on a cold day. It felt soothing, like the comfort of someone you loved when you needed them. Like a the feeling you got from a good book on a snowy day and a cup of hot chocolate after playing in the snow.

Naruto was given a topaz. It felt like liquid electricity, like that spark of life given to all living beings. Holding it reminded him of thunderstorms, the sheer power of the lightning as it crashed through the path of least resistance. Yet that power was tempered by calm acceptance. The song of the wind that you had to stop in order to hear.

Celebi floated in front of them.

"_Release Zorua from her Seal Ball Naruto."_

Naru appeared from her ball, and barked in greeting to the three great cats.

"_Now remove the Everstone you gave it and feed it a Rare Candy. It's time for Zorua to grow up."_

Naruto carefully removed the necklace and fed Naru a rare candy. Once the sweet took effect, she began to glow as she evolved.

"Zoruark!"

"_Naru, now that you are a Zoruark, you are tasked to watch over the Leaf village Pokémon and their partners until Naruto's return. Where we are sending him, you cannot go for the moment. Once you are older, we will send you to meet him,"_ said Celebi.

Suicune looked at Naruto.

"_The reason why Arceus is sending you to the past is so you have a chance to grow stronger. Your bond with your Pokémon is the strongest in the Elemental Nations. Before those fools ruined everything by trying to control the Legendary Pokémon, the world was more at peace. Civilians and those tasked to keep the peace used to work side-by-side. Now, now there is a clear difference in power. When you return from the past Uzumaki Naruto, we want you to fulfill your ancestor's oath to restore that balance of power. Shinobi were never meant to rule this world," _said Suicune.

"How can I do that?"

"_There is a war coming. One that will envelop all of this world. Enemies shall band together in order to end a madman's dream, but the cost will be great. Possibly too great, and it may force another Cataclysm. The Ten Tails cannot be awoken from the slumber it was forced into by Arceus and the Rikudo Sage. The restoration of the lost technology and knowledge would go a long way to lessen the blow of the war," _said Celebi.

"Why? Why does there have to be war?" asked Hinata.

"_Because the shinobi have grown too strong. This war will be caused by a single madman who helped to build the greatest of the Hidden Villages... Your ancestor, Madara Uchiha. However, there is a spark of hope in this darkness," _said Raikou.

"How can we defeat someone as old and powerful as Madara?!" asked Obito in horror. He had heard the tales of his ancestor, who had the horrific ability to steal bodies before death and take them over.

As one, the three great cats looked at Obito.

"_Due to Naruto's intervention, Madara's initial plan to steal your body was foiled and he had to take over the body of Shusui Uchiha. Thanks to this, the Leaf village has a chance. In the original timeline, you were taken over and Madara unlocked a rather...unusual trait that belongs to your Sharingan eye. You have the ability to use a technique very similar to your teacher's Hiraishin. It will allow you to become insubstantial for enough time to avoid injury and deal damage. You'll have to unlock that yourself, but you should be able to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan without losing yourself like Madara did," _said Entei.

"_You three will be extremely important if this world is to survive. Never lose your bonds with each other, or your Pokémon," _said Suicune.

And with that, the three great cats gently touched their paws to each child before returning to where they had been before. Celebi was gone too.

"That...was disconcerting," said Naruto.

"Agreed," said the other two.

"We need sake. Lots and lots of sake. And possibly copious amounts of gambling. Anyone up to bankrupting a corrupt casino?" asked Naruto, rubbing his head. All this serious talk was giving him a massive headache.

The other two looked at each other amused, before they started walking back down to town. No doubt Kakashi would ask where they went.

* * *

Naruto was out buying some more souvenirs (he already had three scrolls full for everyone back home, including Tsunade) when his eye was caught by two odd shaped egg-like pendants. He had heard of these necklaces before from his research into Pre-Cataclysm history.

This resembled the pendant given to all those who had dedicated their lives to healing Pokémon...even the Chanseys got one! Picking it up, he noted the gold was slightly tarnished and looked like brass.

"That there was dug up in Grass country. I bought it for 5,000 ryo a piece," said the clerk.

"How much for both?"

"7,500 ryo each," he said promptly. Naruto handed over the cash without blinking.

There was something like chakra, but not, coming from the pendants. If they were what he thought, then they would be quite useful in the past.

Much like the badges of old, these pendants had some sort of power in them...but no one ever said what they were. And only those who went to the special schools were allowed to wear them.

From what he read about these schools, he was qualified to wear it, as he had to learn the much harder method of non-chakra healing due to his tenant, even if the Fox was helping his control.

Naruto slipped it on his neck and put the other in his pocket to give to Tsunade later as a prize for completing her training.

In the meantime, Naruto planned to hit one of the shadier casinos where the pot went up in the millions for a single hand. He had already earned the cash to join said games, now he just had to hit it.

He chuckled darkly...those poor souls had likely never come across someone like him, who's luck during missions was only countered by his gambling luck, which was the inverse of Tsunade.

He planned to hide most of that and only dole out a third. Naruto was no fool, as countless arguments between him and the civilian council had only pounded a single lesson in his head.

The one with the most money invested into a particular person or company tended to win more arguments. What people didn't know was that a third of his writing fortune had gone into 'anonymously' investing in several key council member's businesses as insurance. If they tried anything, like say kicking him out of the village over some trumped up charge, he would pull out so fast they would fall on their backside.

The fact he kept a very accurate accounting of how much he invested didn't hurt either, or that he used a rather odd name to fall behind.

Arashi Namikaze (the last bit was in tribute to his hero, the Yellow Flash) was considered one of _the_ biggest investors in the village. Naruto often had to restrain his laughter at the sound of Arashi's praise.

Naruto's eyes glinted as he whistled to the shady casino. It wouldn't be until one that he finally managed to leave, though that was after kicking the ass of some idiot bandits and pitifully weak former shinobi who took offense Naruto had beaten them at poker.

Kakashi didn't bother to ask where he had been, seeing as he had a hangover courtesy of an also suffering Zabuza.

* * *

Naruto was grinning as he had Tropic check the weather out in sea.

"The Lugia went back to sleep. The passage is clear for the moment," he said cheerfully to the dock master.

"You're good kid. Want to learn how to tell the weather while everyone gets ready to leave tomorrow?"

"You bet!" said Naruto grinning like a fox.

Thanks to copious amounts of clones, Naruto learned about various weather patterns and clouds.

Say what you will about Naruto, he didn't turn down learning new things. It was part of the reason he was so unpredictable.

"So explain to me again how you ended up drunk off your ass on the day we're supposed to return back to the mainland?" asked Naruto in a tone he knew would cause massive amounts of pain to anyone with a hangover.

Kakashi, Obito and Neji all winced. Though how the hell they managed to rope _NEJI _of all people into a drinking contest he really didn't want to know.

Hinata wasn't even there to help him berate the trio, as she had heard word that the breakfast bar had cinnamon buns...she was like a shark to those.

Where Naruto had a ramen addiction, Hinata turned predatory whenever the scent of cinnamon and icing was in the air.

"These two started talking about how Hiashi-sama will react to you dating Hinata, and how any children you had were likely to be pranksters..." said Neji, wincing.

"Meh, we were reminiscing," said Obito unrepentant.

"Normally I would let you suffer, but unfortunately we might need all hands on deck once we hit the mainland. So consider yourself grateful that I'll letting you take the night shift. However you three are joining Lee on the banned list until we hit shore," said Naruto.

"Aren't you supposed to listen to the jounin?" complained Kakashi, who had up til now been silent.

"Not when I have the moral superiority of dealing with three fools who got hungover right when we were about to head home," replied Naruto flatly.

All three winced...Tsunade would likely have their heads for this if Naruto told her.

That being said, Naruto was quick to get the recipe for cinnamon buns for experimenting with. He had heard tales of Hiashi and the Hyuga elders, and none of them were very good.

That was why he was going to bribe Hinata with cinnamon buns to keep her from going back into her shell once their new relationship status got out.

* * *

Tsunade looked at the reports of everyone who had gone to Moon Country and felt a headache coming on. At least thanks to that Lugia they had time to write it, and because of Naruto they were legible enough to actually READ.

As it was, she had the feeling that the reports were the least of her problems.

"That reminds me, do you know where Ino and Haku are? I got the prerelease of the movie from Koyuki-hime," said Naruto.

"Try the BBQ later. And what is this note about the three Great Cats?"

"Raikou, Entei and Suicune said that I would be hijacked within a week of coming home...something about preparing for a massive war and trying to lessen the casualty list."

"Ano...they said that Naruto had been picked to bring back the ancient technology straight from the past, but he would have to spend three years there... they also said that the one who causes the war is Madara Uchiha," said Hinata nervously.

"How many of you were present to see them?" asked Tsunade, reaching for her sake.

Obito, Hinata and Naruto all raised their hands.

"Tell me exactly what was said and how badly we're going to need to upgrade training schedules," she said after taking a shot.

They relayed most of the message, not bothering to mention their new jewels and left roughly around dinner. Naruto passed on the copies of the final Princess movie to the others before heading home with Obito.

There he was tackled by his Pokémon...and a few newcomers as well.

"Uh, are you three part of my parents old team?"

The one that looked like a wisp purred as it rubbed against Naruto. Shifter looked at it before bringing a paw up to it. The next thing Naruto knew, Shifter looked like a double of the wispy fox thing.

"Jinneon!"

Another with ribbons on it barked in greeting. Shifter gave it a paw and ended up turning into it too.

"Sylveon!"

Naruto did the only thing he could. He went up to his bed, and went straight to sleep.

He could deal with this in the morning.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Due to an overwhelming response, Naruto's travels in the past will stay in the same story. Also I would like to wish one of my readers a very happy birthday.**_

_**Happy Birthday Tristin, AKA Feith!**_

_**Consider this a thank you for being one of my favorite reviewers! **_;)

* * *

Naruto woke up after a couple of hours to the smell of pizza. Obito or Hinata must be cooking again, he decided.

Likely Obito... a love of tomatoes appeared to be genetic.

He noted that his bed actually seemed to have some space for a change (most of the Pokémon he caught tended to be cuddle monsters...they stole most of the bed) and he washed his face before he went down.

He found the third Pokémon that had shown up helping Obito cook.

"So who did the Raichu belong to?"

"Mouse? He was your dad's," said Obito.

"And the Slyveon?"

"Also your dad's."

"...If it wasn't for the fact that I am here now I would seriously believe that my dad was gay, or at least bi," said Naruto flatly. Seriously, who names a Raichu Mouse and has a fairy-type Eeveelution?

Naruto held out his hand for the Raichu to take, hoping it wouldn't electrocute him. (Not that it would kill him, but the Kyuubi would bitch for hours if it happened.) He was rather surprised when the Raichu turned out to be as mousy as Hinata was before they officially started dating.

Once he ate dinner, he went for a walk. It was good to be home.

* * *

Naruto's first move after he was fully rested, fed and had handed over that necklace from the old days (cleaned up by a jeweler in Moon for a discount because he ordered a few things to give to his female friends) was to find Hinata and ask her out on a date.

Of course he couldn't say that out loud, seeing as how Hiashi scared the crap out of him on a good day.

Which was why their first act as an official couple anywhere near Hiashi or the Hyuuga Elders was to prank the hell out of the ANBU.

Surprising the Branch members in the Hunter division were more than sympathetic once Naruto explained why he was up to his old tricks again. They didn't want this sort of information reaching Hiashi before they had an escape route handy either.

Tsunade knew he would be leaving in a week anyway, so this was the kid's last big show.

* * *

Naruto passed Hinata another batch of cinnamon buns which the girl graciously accepted while they watched his clone army cause havoc. Because he was leaving tomorrow, he had loaded up with as many high level jutsu scrolls he could get his hands on (most of them from Tsunade and Jiraiya, who were high enough on the food chain to give him copies) and the promise to deduct the cost of his medical supplies from his account whenever he handed over his massive Extreme Breeder's Kit to Hinata for resupply.

Hinata had won the game between Tsunade's students for the necklace Naruto had brought back, recognizing her as the leading healer in the village behind Shizune and Tsunade. Haku came in second place, but that was only because he had been training longer than Sakura.

The two were just enjoying the peace and quiet (yeah right...there were screams of anger and promises of revenge from nearly the entire civilian population) and they giggled at the sight of the Might ANBU running around like headless chickens complete with feathers.

Naruto's peace-de-resistance was something he had been planning for days since he had been pranked by Kakashi in Moon country. That 1,000 Years of Death hurt like a bitch...so did getting Enma's adamantite staff form up the ass. Naruto snickered evilly.

Served Kakashi right for not checking for a Henge when he got the latest copy of Jiraiya's book.

The Copy Nin never knew that Naruto had given him the Hokage's advanced signed copy, minus the spy reports, and faked being an ANBU telling Kakashi that the former Hokage needed him for something.

The illusion on the cover fell off right as the Copy nin went into the Hokage's room, and needless to say the former Hokage had been pissed to learn where his advanced copy had vanished to.

Inside the Kyuubi was rolling in his area laughing his furry ass off. He fully believed Kakashi was to blame for not checking for a prank before accepting the 'anonymous' gift when Naruto had been acting up again recently.

"So, it's tomorrow. You remember the hand signs to get into the house, Hinata?"

"Hai," said Hinata. Naruto had her memorize the secret passage into his house since she was keyed in. Hiashi had not been happy to learn Hinata was officially dating Naruto. The Elders, even less so.

Some had even threatened the Caged Bird Seal if she didn't dump Naruto. They had no idea she had Jiraiya paint the counter-seal on the bottom of her foot, a place few people would think to look for it.

The first hint of the seal being applied, and she was kidnapping the children of the clan and dragging them to Naruto's house. Once the Branch members heard her plan, they fully backed her saying that it would ease their minds to know the Elders couldn't hurt their children again.

"Remember Hinata, under no circumstances are you to believe you are worthless. You're much nicer than Sakura and are just as pretty as Haku is," said Naruto firmly. Hinata blushed.

If Haku wasn't a fully bodied male, most people would believe him to be a girl with how pretty he was. According to reports of people who ran into the Yuki clan before it was nearly wiped out, this was a genetic trait.

They were once called the living Snow Maidens.

The two sat on top of the Fourth's head (Naruto had the feeling the man would enjoy the irony that his son was have a date on his head) and simply enjoyed each other's company while the screaming finally started to fade a bit. Hinata finally made it home around ten, avoiding her father and the Elders with now practiced ease. It helped that her Ditto had turned into her to draw them off.

* * *

Naruto had a brand new side bag on his shoulder, with several sealed scrolls that contained all he would need for a long term mission abroad.

According to Tsunade, the original idea was to have Jiraiya take him on a training trip, but considering his habits it was probably better that he go alone and train on his own.

Restoring the old technology was deemed more important than Naruto's own training, which was why the two Sannin loaded him up with so many jutsu scrolls he could use on his own time.

His jutsu library was sadly lacking, since he spent far too much time just training his own team than himself.

He was in the same forest where Mizuki was revealed to be a traitor. He felt that it would be symbolic, as it was here that his shinobi career truly took off. It would be here that he took his training to the next level.

All those in the know who cared about him were there to see him off. His team was selected and he couldn't wait to see the one thing he had been able to beat Sasuke at.

Pre-Cataclysm world, here he comes!

"BII!" cried the tiny time fairy. The forest glowed an unearthly green as Naruto vanished in a flash of light. To insure he made it there safely, Celebi was actually working alongside Dialga and Palkia.

Naruto gave his friends one last grin and a thumbs up as he faded from the present time stream and reappeared in the past.

His adventure had only just begun.

* * *

Naruto's first discovery was when he went to check on Shifter...only to discover that his best friend (and really, almost all of his team) had lost at least thirty levels and were rather weak. About the only ones unaffected were his Dratini egg, Delia, and Trapper. Even Kurama had been affected, being dropped to level ten!

(He had traded the other Trapinch to Shino in exchange for the permission to build a Bug-type habitat at his house. Those required Aburame experts to come in and make it.)

Still, they had kept their current forms, so it wasn't all bad. And a quick look told him all he needed to know as to why they had lost so much strength.

He was in Pallet Town, an area which would later become part of Konohagakure. According to his studies, it was one of the few least hit because the Hero of the Cataclysm was born and raised here.

It was said that man died to a broken heart when he learned his most loyal and trustworthy ally, a simple Pikachu, would never again be brought back during his lifetime. According to legend he was given form as a Pokémon and the two were reunited in death.

Naruto walked up to the biggest building, which he assumed was a Pokémon lab.

He carefully knocked on the door, Shifter on his head like usual.

"GAH!" came the pained cry. It sounded like someone got covered in books to his ears.

Naruto came in and immediately spotted the poor researcher covered in books. A quick glance at the titles made him breathe a little easier.

He could read their language. That would make communicating a hell of a lot easier.

"You alright mister?" asked Naruto slowly.

"I'll be fine. Whoever knocked on the door startled me enough to knock over my research," he said waving the boy's concern's off.

_'Same language, check'_ thought Naruto.

"Sorry about that. I just arrived in Pallet town and figured this was the best place to start my Pokémon journey," said Naruto. It was only a half-lie. He had started it the second he found Shifter years ago.

"Well I can get you started, fortunately I have a spare Pokédex, but the manufacturer got the dye wrong so the cover is the wrong color," said the older man.

"What color is it?"

"Fire-red and orange. According to my supplier they accidentally poured yellow dye in the mold and no one realized it until it was too late."

"Sweet," said Naruto. He loved orange.

"So young man, do you have your Pokémon or do you need a starter? I have Bulbasaur, Charmander, Pikachu and Squirtle."

"Nah, I already have Shifter."

"Vee!" barked Shifter from Naruto's head.

"Why'd you name him Shifter?"

"Shifter, Moonlight!"

Shifter jumped off his head and in a twirl became Umbreon. A quick demonstration and he went back to Eevee.

"Amazing! I've never seen an Eevee or any Pokémon go back and forth from their evolutionary forms!"

"I found Shifter years ago. A friend who treats Pokémon, specifically canine Pokémon, told me that someone had experimented on his right out of the egg giving him the ability to take any Eeveelution barring those of fire, water and electricity, though lately I have been seeing him use electric attacks."

"Fascinating, if a bit horrifying someone would abuse a Pokémon like that," said the man.

Naruto immediately liked him because he didn't feel the need to ship Shifter off to another lab for testing.

"In any case, we need to register you on the Pokédex before you get started. Name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hometown?"

"The Village Hidden in the Leaves, also called Konoha."

"Age?"

Naruto did a quick calculation, as he had noted that not only had his team been reduced several levels but he had also lost a few years.

"Ten."

"Birthday?"

"October Tenth."

The professor held up the camera on the Pokédex, which would scan the Pokémon he encountered and bring up the data.

"Smile for the camera," said the professor.

Naruto grinned, and he heard the distinct sound of a camera shutter going off. The older of the two handed the Pokédex to Naruto.

"You're now registered as a trainer. You'll need at least eight badges to compete in the championships, which are in six months. The Pokédex you now hold has all the data from Kanto to Johto, so it should pick up your friend's evolutionary forms," he said.

"Some of them I highly doubt are from Kanto or Johto," said Naruto.

As he was about to leave the lab with his new Pokédex, he turned to the professor.

"You know I never got your name," he said.

"I am Professor Samuel Oak."

"Uzumaki Naruto, noted historian and lover of ramen," said Naruto.

"It's rare to see someone as young as you with a love of history."

"If it's about Pokémon, then it keeps my interest. Where's the nearest Gym?"

"About twenty miles that way," said Oak.

"Thanks."

Naruto left the lab but ran into a boy with an odd necklace and a spiked hair style.

"Hey Gramps, I'm here for my Pokémon!"

"I have it right here Blue," said Oak tiredly. He loved his grandson, but wished the boy wasn't so clinical about Pokémon.

Naruto was almost at the bottom of the hill (he was trying to act like a civilian) when the boy from earlier ran up to him and offered to battle him and Shifter.

Apparently he had gotten and Eevee from Oak and wanted to test it on Naruto and Shifter.

The brat wouldn't last five minutes, but Naruto humored him.

"Ready Shifter?"

"Vee!"

"Go, Eevee!" said Blue.

"Shifter, Bite!"

"Eevee, dodge!"

It was no use. Shifter's speed was simply too great and he bite the Eevee lightly.

Even at level five he was still a powerhouse. Naruto was still ticked his best friend had lost fifty levels.

At least he still had his ability to switch between his evolutionary forms...

"Shifter, use sand attack and follow up with double team!"

"Vee!"

The younger Eevee became confused. It hurt itself before Blue realized this kid wasn't a joke like most trainers and he called his Eevee back. There was no point fighting a losing battle.

"You there. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto! You know for a recently partnered Eevee it wasn't half bad. It just needs some experience to be really great."

"Hmph. Just you wait Uzumaki, next time I won't loose," said Blue in a huff.

He wasn't particularly happy to have his first official battle end in an obvious loss.

"Before you go, give your Eevee a spray of this," said Naruto, handing over a standard potion. Blue took it and thanked him before heading towards Viridian City.

He wouldn't know how much Naruto had held back until much, much later.


	29. Chapter 29

"Wow, check out the size of those Pidgey! Remind you of that one Kakashi had to catch in order to get it to leave him alone, eh Shifter?" said Naruto.

"Vee!" barked Shifter.

They were taking their time to Viridian when they noticed something.

"What's with Ho-Oh?" said Naruto.

Naruto raced down the hill to find a new trainer with a Pikachu. Apparently he had ticked off the Spearow flock that Naruto had quickly avoided.

The Pikachu looked badly hurt too.

"Shifter, use Psychic!"

"ESPEON!"

The Spearow scattered and Naruto raced to the kid and his Pikachu. It was the same one from Oak's lab.

"You two okay?"

"Yeah... what sort of Pokémon is that?"

"This is Shifter. Here, let me see Pikachu."

Naruto took out his basic kits and went to work. A quick spray of potion and a few bandages, and Pikachu was healthy enough to travel again.

Naruto checked the conditions and noted the Spearow were just waiting for a chance to attack again.

"I don't like the look of that flock. We might as well travel to the next town together, since they look ready to attack again."

"My name's Ash, but you can call me Red," said Red.

"Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Shifter."

"Vee!"

Red was about to hold up his new Pokédex when a Spearow made a swooping run at them.

"Shifter, use Sleep Powder!"

"Feon!"

Soon all the Spearow fell the ground sound asleep.

"VEE!" said Shifter pleased.

"What was that!" said Red.

"There's a reason his name is Shifter. I found him in behind a garbage can on day and learned he could switch between his evolved forms except those of Fire, Water and Electric."

"Vee!"

"Pikachu..."

"So Red, why did you have a collar around Pikachu's neck?"

"It refuses to listen to me!"

"Let's see...here's your problem! Pikachu is level ten, when most starters are level five. You need to earn his respect first," said Naruto, checking one of the basic breeder tools.

"What's that thing?"

"Pokémon level checker."

"So Naruto, where are you from?"

"Konoha."

"Never heard of it."

"It's in another land," said Naruto. Which wasn't exactly true, as he was technically _in_ Konoha, even if it wasn't called that yet.

They passed a girl who was fishing for Water types, and Naruto couldn't help but comment...

"You're not going to catch more than a Magikarp with that rod," he said.

"Like you would know!" she snapped.

"Old Rods like that are good for weak Water types. If you really want a good one use a Good Rod instead," said Naruto sensibly.

"I left my Good Rod at home," she complained.

Naruto paused and looked in his bag.

"Here it is! You can borrow it until we run into each other again," said Naruto.

"Thanks! What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!"

"I'm Misty of Cerulean!"

"Oh, before I forget...there's a flock of Spearow who seems really ticked off at Red here. So when they wake up I would recommend avoiding them."

"Thanks for the warning," said Misty with a grimace.

* * *

Nurse Joy looked over Red's Pikachu.

"Whoever treated it did a perfect job! He just needs some rest," she said.

"Thanks!" said Naruto.

"You treated him?" said Nurse Joy in shock.

Naruto pulled back on his collar to reveal...his Breeder Badge. It had five marks on the badge, indicating he was a Level five breeder...pretty high for a kid barely fourteen.

(In order to compare, the levels are one through ten, with the highest being an 'X' Shape mark meaning they can heal practically anything. Tsunade has an 'X' on her badge whereas Ino is at level '1' because she isn't all that interested in being a healer. Naruto is the highest ranked breeder of his age group.)

"That's...! Where did you get it?" asked Nurse Joy. Red noticed a similar badge on her uniform.

"Back home we have a test for those who want to learn how to heal their own Pokémon. I took it as a joke because a friend tricked me and passed it on the first try. I recently earned my level five marking," said Naruto proudly.

"No wonder Pikachu was treated so well! A level five means you're a qualified Pokémon doctor!" said Nurse Joy impressed.

Naruto beamed proudly. He worked hard to earn those marks!

"No way! You're a Pokémon doctor?" said Red.

"Actually I plan to be a trainer. I just became a doctor because I love Pokémon so much and I knew there would be times when a Pokémon center wasn't handy."

"Which reminds me...here are your Pokémon Naruto," said Nurse Joy.

She was so telling her sisters about this new trainer.

"Say Naruto, how about a Pokémon battle?"

"Get some more Pokémon and I'll consider it. Right now Pikachu is still too weak to handle Shifter or the others...especially Kurama."

"What sort of Pokémon do you have Naruto?"

"How about I show you?" said Naruto.

He tossed his Pokémon in the air, and they came out.

"Nine!"

"Deli!"

"Vee!"

"Lax!"

"You only have four?" said Red surprised.

"Actually I have a ton of Pokémon but only brought four. Meet Kurama, Delia, Shifter and Ayame!"

"You've already met Pikachu."

"He looks like one of those who hates Seal Balls," said Naruto.

"Seal Balls?"

Naruto brought out one of his weaker versions.

"That really looks like a Pokéball. Only the color is wrong," said Red.

"Of course the color is different! I paid money for this orange cover!"

Naruto brought out a book.

"See? Here's a catalog of Seal Ball covers."

"I think you mean Pokéball," said Red.

"Nah, they're pretty much the same thing except for how they're made. See for yourself!" said Naruto. He opened one up to reveal odd drawings and an open area. Red opened his to reveal...striations along the machine.

"See? This is a Seal Ball and that's a Pokéball. Seal balls aren't made of machines, but special acorns and seals."

"Wow!"

"Of course they are pretty rare around Kanto. I'm probably the only one you'll meet that has them or knows how to make them," said Naruto.

They had moved into the cafe area.

"Really? That is so cool!"

"I'm a Pokémon historian, doctor, breeder and trainer. When you have so many interests it's hard to keep track of them all!"

"So are you planning to be a Professor like Professor Oak?"

"Maybe later. Right now I just want to enjoy my Pokémon journey!" said Naruto.

He suddenly remembered something.

"Hang on a sec...I forgot to ask Nurse Joy something," said Naruto, snapping his fingers.

"You need the blueprints for our Pokémon healing machines?" said Nurse Joy.

"Yeah, back home we don't even have them. All healers have to learn how to do things by hand, so I was hoping you knew where I could get the blue prints, or even an older model."

"We don't have the blue prints, but I can give you the last catalog for the machines. You'll have to save in order to get one for your home though," said Nurse Joy.

"That's okay. I'm good at saving up!" said Naruto.

* * *

Naruto decided to stay at the Pokémon Center for the night. He was having too much fun wandering around the past.

He spent an hour looking at the Pokémon healing machines and hoped that he could put them in a sealing scroll. Jiraiya had really helped out by leaving all those books on the subject.

Naruto was one of the few people in his village able to make their own Seal Balls. Of course he had to learn the trick to hollow out the acorns in a way that didn't ruin them...took him months to pull that off!

As he was about to drift off to sleep, he heard a crash!

"What the heck?"

Naruto ran out to find...a talking Meowth?

"HEY! Put those Pokéballs back right now!" shouted Red.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto.

"These creeps are stealing all the Pokémon!"

"Seriously? This is one of the first towns new trainers hit. What are they expecting to find, Gengar?" said Naruto unimpressed.

The Meowth sweatdropped. The kid had a point. The most they would get were some fairly common types like Rattata or Pidgey...then he spotted the Eevee on the kid's head.

"Jesse, James, take a look at that Eevee!" said Meowth.

They shot a net at Shifter, and grabbed it. It was too tough for rookie Pokémon, but not for Shifter.

"Shifter, use Bite!"

Shifter's tough teeth bit through the ropes with perfect ease.

"Shifter, use Razor Leaf!"

"Leafeon!"

The nets that held the Pokémon fell apart in the onslaught. Shifter looked smug.

"Vee!"

"Now Shifter, use Psybeam!"

A blast of psychic energy hit the thieves, sending them flying.

"Wow Naruto, how did your Eevee do that?" asked Red. Nurse Joy was just as shocked.

"A friend of mine told me when I first found him that Shifter had been experimented on right out of the egg. He's one of a kind," said Naruto, holding out his arms for Shifter.

"Vee!" cried Shifter, running up and taking his usual perch on Naruto's head.

"Like some common thief would be able to beat Shifter and me!" said Naruto proudly.

"Now I really want to battle you!" said Red.

"Like I said before, get some training in first," said Naruto grinning.

* * *

Naruto split off from Red in the forest. He need to retrain his team now that they had lost so many levels. And the forest area was his specialty.

"Alright Shifter, use Razor Leaf on those acorns! Ayame collect them!"

"Leafeon!"

"Munchlax!"

The two worked as a cohesive team cutting down ripe acorns while Ayame collected them using it's special ability Pick Up.

"Good job guys!" said Naruto. He put all the acorns in a seal for later.

Unfortunately his acorn collecting attracted the ire of an entire hive of Beedrill. Shifter accidentally knocked a Kakuna off the tree.

"Kurama, Flamethrower!" said Naruto.

"NINE!"

The blast of flames knocked the Beedrill out with a single hit.

"Not bad for a kid," said a voice behind him.

Naruto turned to find...a samurai?

"But the size of your Ninetails tells me you evolved it almost immediately," said the Samurai.

"Actually I waited, but there was a small problem and he ended up like this," admitted Naruto.

"So why are you collecting acorns?"

"Hobby of mine...plus it saves on Pokéballs."

"How so?"

"How about a battle? Win and I'll tell ya!" said Naruto.

"You're on!"

"Go Butterfree!"

"I choose you, Ayame!"

"Munchlax!"

"What's that?" asked the samurai kid, who's name turned out to be Greg.

"Munchlax is the baby form of Snorlax," said Naruto.

"Butterfree, Poison Powder!"

"Ayame, use Double Team!"

"Lax!"

"Butterfree, Gust!"

"Ayame, use Bite!"

"Lax!"

"Free!"

Butterfree was knocked out by the force of the attack.

"Butterfree! Return!"

"Ready when you are!" said Naruto grinning. Lost levels or not, he was still a strong trainer.

"Grr... Go Scyther!"

"Kurama, it's your turn!"

"Ninetails!"

"Scyther, X-Scissor!"

"Kurama, Iron Tail!"

"Nine!"

Kurama avoided the attack and quickly hit the Scyther with the Steel attack.

It only took one hit.

"Impossible! A weak Pokémon like that shouldn't be able to hurt Scyther!"

"Just because his level is low doesn't mean he's weak!" said Naruto proudly.

"Scyther!" cried Greg.

"He okay?" asked Naruto.

"He's hurt!"

Naruto grabbed his bag and immediately checked on Scyther.

He was pretty badly hurt. His wing was bent a little.

"Hold him still. Shifter, get me some splints!"

"Vee!"

Shifter returned with some sturdy branches.

Naruto went to work healing Scyther. The damage wasn't too bad, but it required immediate attention. Even missing over thirty levels, his team had been trained to incapacitate or kill.

It took nearly an hour, but eventually Scyther was fine.

"Keep him from battling for a week, and he should be fine."

"How do you know so much?" asked Greg.

"I love Pokémon so much that I learned to heal them in the event a Pokémon center wasn't around. The irony is that I always wanted to be a trainer and not a healer."

"With a team like that, I bet you could beat Brock easily!"

"What type does he use?"

"Rock Pokémon," said Greg.

"Yeah, I can kick his ass then."

* * *

Naruto wasn't the least bit surprised that news of the fact he was a level 5 healer to spread among the Nurse Joy community.

He left his Pokémon at the center and went for a walk. He knew they would be fine...after all, Seal Balls were designed so that if anything happened to their partners, the Pokémon could escape without much trouble.

Unlike Pokéballs, Seal Balls were designed so that Pokémon could come and go between their containers without any input of the trainer whatsoever. Sometimes shinobi needed to bring their partner out without alerting the enemy.

His first stop was the bookstore for history books. The look of shock on the clerk's face when he saw the amount of history and biology for the 'ten' year old trainer's list...well, Naruto had the urge to grab a camera it was so funny.

Seeing the same kid put them all in a single scroll was even more hilarious. Naruto then went out for lunch and got an ice cream, which was damn near impossible to get in Konoha due to the heat. It was impossible for anyone in Suna.

By the time night fell, Naruto was in his happy place. He just had to do a single battle tomorrow and he could have fun. As usual, his entire team crowded in the bed and made it extremely difficult to move. The fact he didn't try to kick them off was just another reason his team loved him.

So far Naruto was absolutely in love with the past, despite the awful smell of the machines.


	30. Chapter 30

Naruto took a deep breath, adjusted his chunin vest, and went in. Shifter was on his head and ready to surprise everyone.

"Hello! Come here to challenge the Gym Leader?" asked a teen.

"Yup! My first time in Kanto, so I decided to do a gym crawl!" said Naruto.

The teen laughed, and said "Why don't we get started then?"

A referee immediately came out of the corner office and got into the center box just outside the arena. The teen who greeted him got into the box on the other side of the fighting zone. Naruto took the hint and walked into the one closest to the door.

"Challenger may switch out and use items! This will be a two on two battle!"

"Go Onix!"

"Hmm, that's a big one. In that case, I counter your Onix with... Shifter, go get him buddy!"

"Vee!" said Shifter, jumping off his head and standing proudly in the ring.

"Begin!"

"Shifter, use Dig!" said Naruto gleefully. This was going to be fun!

"Vee!" said the tiny Pokémon as it dug deep into the slightly rocky soil in the arena, essentially hiding from sight.

"Onix, Dig!" said Brock.

The rock snake Pokémon dove into the ground, creating a larger hole than Shifter ever could.

"Shifter, use Night Shade!"

Brock could hear the pained cry of Onix as it was hit underground. The rock snake was quick to leave the ground after that hit.

"Shifter, Razor Leaf!"

A large storm of leaves came out of the hole and hit Onix, who cried again. Out of the hole popped...Shifter in Leafeon form.

Brock was naturally surprised when the 'Leafeon' shook off the excess dirt and went back to being an Eevee.

"What the...?"

"Shifter was altered almost right out of the egg. He can take almost any of his evolved forms except the original three discovered in the Kanto region."

"Well that just makes it more interesting!" said Brock with a grin. Certainly explained why he had sent out a normal type.

"Shifter, use Ice Beam!"

"Glaceon!"

The icy beam froze Onix completely, giving him a FRZ status.

"Onix is unable to battle!" declared the ref.

"Way to go Shifter!"

"Vee!"

"Not bad, for a kid who wears a lot of orange. Go, Geodude!"

"Come on out, Trapper!"

"Pinch!"

"What is that?" said Brock.

"Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokémon. It's nest is slopped so that when caught it's prey cannot escape," said Naruto smugly. He had caught it for one reason, and one reason only.

He wanted a Flygon on his team. Trapper was the only one not really affected by the sudden drop in levels.

"Trapper, time to show what your made of!" said Naruto.

"Pinch!"

"Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

"Brick Break!" shouted Naruto. He was having a lot of fun.

Trapper's mouth shattered the rocks with ease. It was a bit of a joke among his friends that all of Naruto's Pokémon tended to have the power to destroy rocks with their teeth, if they had them.

"Trapper, use Sand Tomb!"

"Pinch!"

Trapper dug through the dirt like a Drillbur on a mission. Geodude floated down to try and grab it, but ended up caught between Trapper's teeth.

"Trapper, use Gust!"

"HUH?!"

"TRAPINCH!"

Trapper sent Geodude flying.

"Geo...Dude..."

"Geodude is unable to battle! Winner is Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!"

"Way to go Trapper!"

"Pinch."

"I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting a ground-type Pokémon to know a flying type move," said Brock.

"Egg move," said Naruto.

"Huh?"

"I found out that Trapper had that after I caught him, and when I asked my teacher, she said that it must have inherited it from his parents. They call those Egg moves," shrugged Naruto.

Then he remembered something.

"Bring out your Onix for a minute."

"Why?"

"So I can remove the Frozen status. A rock/ground type that's been frozen can be hurt if it stays like that too long."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah, the frost chips away at the rock and makes ground harder to move," said Naruto. He sprayed the Ice Heal on Onix, and the rock snake was able to breath easier.

Once his team was healed, and Brock handed him his first official badge, Naruto headed towards Cerulean City for his next.

* * *

Naruto was about to go to sleep when he heard the cackling. He left the hollow of the tree he had found to find... the trio of idiots that attacked the Pokémon Center!

Naruto completely ignored them, assuming they were talking to someone...until they said "We're here for yer Eevee, so hand it over!"

"Not a chance in hell!" said Naruto yawning.

The purple-haired one used some sort of net to grab Shifter, who was just as sleepy as his partner.

"Shifter, use Bite to escape and Psybeam to get rid of them."

"Vee!"

"THE NET!"

"ESPE-ON!" cried Shifter as he switched to psychic form to blast the trio away.

"We're Blasting Off Again!" they screamed as the blast sent them flying.

"Really, who the hell harasses a shinobi when he's trying to sleep for the night?" yawned Naruto.

* * *

Naruto was making his way through the cave, occasionally picking up shiny rocks off the ground out of boredom. He ignored the Zubat flying overhead...they were more of a nuisance than most. He was about halfway through the cave when he came across another trainer.

The guy was jealously guarding something behind it. He was so paranoid that Naruto couldn't even get a look at it!

"Hey, what's up?"

"You can't have my treasure!" shrieked the boy.

"Treasure? Why would I care about stealing your treasure?"

"GO ZUBAT!"

"You know what, I don't even care anymore. Ayame, Zen Headbutt."

"LAX!" Ayame hit the Zubat with more force than necessary.

"ZUBAT! Grr, go Geodude!"

"Ayame, Ice Beam," said Naruto bored.

"Dude..."

"NO! GEODUDE!"

Before the kid could get out a third Pokémon, Naruto did the only sensible thing. He calmly walked up to the kid...and bitch slapped him.

"Take a deep breath and calm down," advised Naruto.

The kid was so startled by the slap that he followed the advice without question. Once he had taken a few deep breaths, he was able to think rationally again.

"Sorry about that..." said the kid.

"What got you so worked up to begin with?"

"I kinda got lost looking for fossils, and some jerks tried to steal the two I found. That Geodude and Zubat I just used are the only Pokémon still able to fight, the rest are too tired," he explained.

"Let's find a place to rest, and I'll see what I can do about your team," said Naruto. To be honest, he was already really bored walking through the cave.

"You have supplies?"

"More than that, I'm a registered Pokémon doctor. I can heal your team back to perfect health!" said Naruto.

"My name's Chip."

"Naruto. So you like fossils?"

"Yeah! I planned to come here and hopefully find a few and take them to Cinnabar Island and have them revived!"

"They can revive Pokémon fossils?"

"Yeah. Only the serious hunters know about it though. The technology is still a bit wonky from what I hear," said Chip.

"Cool!"

"By the way, your Krabby is fully healed. Looks like in a couple more levels he'll evolve. Your Sandshrew is fine as well, he looks like he'll evolve in another five levels. Geodude and Zubat are healthy. Just a little tired."

"Thanks! How do you know so much anyway?"

"Shifter here is my best friend, has been since I found him. I wanted to make sure he got the best care possible, so I took up learning how to treat Pokémon as a hobby. Wasn't until someone took notice of my talent that I was properly trained. I rank higher than most Nurse Joy's."

"Thanks for healing my team. I thought I was going to lose Crusher," said Chip.

"There is no Pokémon not worth saving. Besides, if I had left you the way were acting, you could have gotten really hurt," said Naruto, stirring the pot. He had broken out his rations and started cooking dinner, as it was clear Chip hadn't seen a good meal in at least a week.

At least he wasn't dehydrated.

* * *

Naruto helped Chip out of the cave, having filled up his bag with stones. In the light of day, Chip finally got a look at what Naruto kept picking up.

"No way! You were picking up Moon Stones? How did you even know what they were?" said Chip.

Naruto chuckled.

"Iruka-sensei always said I had the Pick Up ability," said Naruto.

Naruto handed him ten stones. Chip handed him a Kabuto fossil he found earlier that week.

The two parted at the base of the mountain, having spent far too long inside to want to venture in again.

* * *

Naruto was very disappointed in the Cerulean Gym. The girls seemed more like Sakura than he would have liked. He didn't even have to use Shifter to beat them. Ayame did all the work.

He was about to leave the bookstore (his first stop either before or after a battle) when he notice a glow from his bag.

Only one thing had that distinct glow.

Naruto quickly paid for his purchases before he headed to the park. He released his team so they could join him and took out the jar containing the Dratini egg.

It was hatching!

"Dratini!"

Dratini was about five feet long, and bright orange. It had a pale cream belly and bright blue eyes. It even had a crescent shape birthmark next to it's right eye.

"Hmm... I think I'll call you Tsuki-chan, for the birthmark!" said Naruto.

He pulled out several colors.

"Pick which color you want for your Seal Ball," said Naruto. Tsuki slithered up to a fire-orange color. Naruto held out a Seal Ball and placed the fire-orange cover on it. Dratini touched the kanji covered button, and vanished into the ball.

"No way! An orange Dratini?!" said a familiar voice.

"Hey, how did that rod work for you?" asked Naruto.

It was Misty.

"It worked great! Thanks to you I was able to get a Goldeen!"

"Glad to hear it."

"By the way, was that really an orange Dratini?"

"The technical term is 'Shiny' Dratini. I got it from a friend who breeds them," said Naruto.

"'Shiny'?" asked Misty.

"A Shiny Pokémon is one that looks slightly different or has a special characteristic. Like say lighter or odd coloring, or their size being different. Because she was just hatched, she didn't show the characteristic stars that usually show up when you see one," said Naruto.

"Wow. You sure know a lot about Pokémon," said Misty.

"I'm a Pokémon historian and a registered Pokémon doctor."

"So why do you use such weird Pokéballs?" asked Misty. She had noted that earlier, but hadn't had time to ask.

"They aren't Pokéballs. They're Seal balls. Where I come from, Pokéballs are nearly impossible to get, so we developed what we call Seal Balls, which work exactly like a Pokéball does. Saves on money, but the main problem is finding the right acorns to use."

"Can you show me?" asked Misty.

"Sure!"

As Shifter and the other Pokémon munched on lunch, Naruto took out an acorn from the forest and shelled it out. Shifter swiped the inside of the acorn before the other Pokémon could.

(Pokémon love the inside of acorns, particularly Naruto's Pokémon. He has a habit of leaving the acorns around so they tend to eat them up like treats.)

He pulled out a brush, and began painting the seals on the inside with the tiny brush. It began to expand and he deftly shaped the glowing acorn into a ball form. Once it stopped growing, Naruto painted the inside and outside again. He finished it off with a single kanji on the button.

"And that is the way Seal Balls are made."

"Wow!" said Misty.

"Of course I only recently learned how to make my own. It took me months to get it good enough for my teachers to accept it."

"And the weird coloring on the balls?" asked Misty.

"Seal Covers. Once you reach a certain rank you can buy them to individualize the balls."

"Wow...how do you make those?"

"They don't actually do anything. They're mostly a cover to change the colors," said Naruto.

"Got any blue and sea green ones? I'll battle you for them!" said Misty.

"Sure! Can't be any more disappointing than the gym battle I just had!" said Naruto.

"You challenged my sisters earlier, didn't you?"

"Yeah...it was kinda sad."

"Well today is your lucky day! Since my sisters don't really like to battle, why don't you have a rematch with me? If you win, then your gym badge won't have an air of disappointment to it!"

"You're on!" said Naruto.

* * *

"Misty of Cerulean versus Naruto of Konoha! Begin!" yelled the ref.

"Go, Kurama!"

"Nine!"

"Wow, a Ninetails! Don't get them very often. Go Staryu!" said Misty.

The star fish Pokémon spun around the water.

"Kurama, Will-of-Wisp!" said Naruto.

Nine flames appeared on Kurama's tails, and they hit Staryu. It gained the burned status.

"Hang in there Staryu!"

"Staryu, use Water Gun!" shouted Misty.

"Kurama, use Ember and turn it into steam!" said Naruto.

"Nine!"

Steam filled the air as Ember matched Water Gun blow for blow.

"No way! How strong is that fox?" said Misty.

"Kurama is a Pokémon that I've raised from the egg. I trust him completely to watch my back! Now Kurama, Sunny Day!"

The sun began to shine as if it were high noon above the stadium.

"HUH?! Never mind, Staryu, Hydro Pump!"

"Kurama, use Protect!"

"Nine!"

A shield appeared and blocked the hit.

"Now Kurama, Solar Beam!" said Naruto.

"NINE!"

The Solar Beam hit Staryu so hard that it crashed into the wall and passed out.

"No way! How can a fire type use a grass move? And without having to charge it?"

Naruto pointed at the sky above.

"Sunny Day, when used in conjunction with Solar Beam cuts down the charge time for it quite a bit. It also boosts fire-type moves," said Naruto.

"Not bad. Now go, Starmie!"

"Kurama, return! Go, Delia!" said Naruto.

"Delibird!"

"Delibird? What kind of Pokémon is that?"

"A Johto Pokémon," said Naruto.

"Starmie, use Water Gun!"

"Delia, Icy Wind."

The Water Gun froze solid and crashed into the water with a splash.

"Delia, Present!"

The Delibird presented a bag to Starmie. Starmie opened it, very confused, only for it to blow up!

"What the heck?!"

"Delibird's best attack is Present, which can both harm or heal a Pokémon," said Naruto.

"Starmie, Hydro Pump!"

"Delia, use Aerial Ace!"

"Deli!"

"STAR!" yelped Starmie.

"Delia, use Icy Wind!"

Starmie was frozen by the ice cold wind.

"Starmie is unable to battle! Winner is Naruto from Konoha!"

"Starmie!" cried Misty.

"Hang on! I can treat them long enough for you to get to the Pokémon Center!" said Naruto.

"Thanks for the battle Misty! It totally made up for the Gym fight before!" said Naruto. He handed her six blue and green covers.

"Are these the covers you talked about?" asked Misty.

"Yup! I have all the colors, but I like orange and bright colors best. You can have these for yours!" said Naruto.

"Thanks Naruto! Maybe we can battle again later!" said Misty.

"You bet!" said Naruto grinning.


	31. Chapter 31

Naruto made a stop before heading towards his next battle. He grabbed a scroll and brush and wrote his report. He had to send his report on the past soon, which meant either Obito or Hinata would be showing up soon.

It took him most of the day, during which time his shadow clones trained using jutsu or the Pokémon attack combos he knew.

"Keep it down!" yelled Naruto after a particularly loud explosion.

"SORRY!" shouted the other clones.

"Finally! Done!" said Naruto in relief.

He got his camp ready for the night as he prepared for visitors.

"BIII!"

"OMPH!" said Hinata.

"Hey Hinata. Want some dinner?" asked Naruto.

"Sure, Naruto-kun."

"Alright guys, time to eat!" yelled Naruto.

"VEE!"

Everyone came in for dinner, including Hinata's Pokémon.

"So what have you found Naruto?"

"First off, I have a catalog of the healing machines. Can you take it back to Tsunade-sensei to pick one? Also, I've managed to collect two badges from the gyms here," said Naruto.

"What about the Pokémon?"

"This is Kanto region. Not much to pick from this early on. I did buy a set of Pokéballs for the researchers to look at. The medicine appears to be almost the same as the ones we use," said Naruto.

Hinata took the scroll from Naruto, along with the sealed items. Once she finished her dinner, she gave Naruto a quick kiss before she went back to their time. She did, however, leave Digit behind while she took Delia back. She would be borrowing Delia for a while as a messenger. She needed the Delibird to make deliveries for Naruto's book series.

(He had been working on it before bed, he had plenty of new material now.)

* * *

"Ugh...more caves," said Naruto.

"Pory..."

"Sorry I didn't bring you with me earlier," said Naruto.

"Gon!"

"Well Digit, let's head out!"

"Porygon!"

"Eevee!"

"Hey, wait up!" yelled a familiar voice.

"Hey Red!"

"Hey Naruto! I was hoping to meet up with you again. How about a Pokémon battle?

"Sure. Who do you want to fight first, Shifter or Digit?"

"Digit?" said Red.

"Porygon!"

"Red, this is Digit. Don't let his looks fool ya, he's stronger than he appears!"

Red took out his Pokédex and aimed it at Digit.

"_**Porygon, the Virtual Pokémon. Porygon is a man-made Pokémon. Since it doesn't need to breathe, scientists are eager to test it out in space."**_

"That's awesome! Where did you get him?"

"Game Corner. My absurd luck makes getting Pokémon from those places really easy."

"So, about that battle?" said Red hopefully.

Naruto grinned.

"Go Kurama!"

"Go Pikachu!"

"Kurama, Sunny Day!"

"Nine!"

"Man that sun is strong! Pikachu, Thundershock!"

"Kurama, dodge and use Solar Beam!"

"What?!"

"Chu..." said Pikachu, having fainted.

"No way! How can a Fire type like Ninetails use a grass type move like Solarbeam?"

"TM's. Took me forever to save up for Solar Beam."

"I'm not done yet! Go Bulbasaur!"

"Kurama, return! Go Ayame!"

"Munch!"

"What's that? My Pokédex doesn't have it in here," said Red in confusion.

"Munchlax, the primary form of Snorlax. The reason you don't have it is because that's a Kanto region Pokédex and Munchlax is Johto."

"Cool!"

"Bulbasaur, Solar Beam!"

"Ayame, use Ice Beam!"

The two clashed into a beautiful colored block of ice.

"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!"

"Ayame, use Stockpile!"

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

"Ayame, Spit Up!"

"Bulba...saur..."

"Way to go Ayame!" said Naruto. He gave his Pokémon a high five. So imagine his surprise when Ayame started to glow!

"Snorlax Snor!"

"Alright, you evolved!" said Naruto. He gave Ayame a big bag of Acorn Cookies, and got a bone-cracking bear hug in return.

"What are those?"

"Acorn Cookies. People like me who make their own Seal Balls tend to use the insides of the acorns to make treats for Pokémon, who can't get enough. Here, give Pikachu one," said Naruto.

"PIKA!" said Pikachu, who absolutely _loved_ the cookie.

"You're a great trainer Naruto."

"Thanks Red. It helps that I've been training longer than you have," said Naruto. He healed Bulbasaur and Pikachu for Red.

"You heading to the next gym?"

"Yeah, but I'm so not looking forward to that cave. Zubat are a nuisance."

"How about we go in together?"

"What's the next town?"

"Lavender town is right outside the cave," said Red.

"L...Lavender Town? The one with the Pokémon cemetery?!" said Naruto.

"What's the matter with you?"

"I'm not a big fan of ghosts. I can handle ghost-type Pokémon, but ghosts freak me out."

Red barely resisted the urge to snicker.

Naruto was shaking like a leaf when they left the cave. He was not a happy camper, not one bit.

Red was just glad his team was primed and ready for action, as Naruto had healed them after each battle.

"Man, all I want is to sleep in a bed that doesn't move..." said Naruto.

Ayame was the perfect bed when you didn't want to sleep on the ground.

Plus it really limited the amount of cuddle bugs. Red had laughed himself silly when he found out Naruto let his Pokémon snuggle up with him at night.

Which explained why Naruto had such a strong bond with all of his Pokémon. He treated them like family.

Naruto had Kurama next to him while Shifter took a nap in the pack. It was big enough for the tiny dog to snooze without being bothered.

Naruto and Red made it through the dense fog to find...a town full of rather unfriendly people.

They both headed straight for the Pokémon Center to book a room and take a nice hot shower.

Water jutsu were great for things like that, but they were impossible to use in a cave and Naruto only knew a few really destructive ones.

Naruto crashed into the soft bed, with most of Pokémon snoozing next to him...Ayame was too big for that now, but she still crashed next to the bed. Naruto gave her one of his pillows,

"So there's something wrong with the tower?" said Naruto.

"Yeah. No one's been able to go in for over a week, and the locals have been really unhappy about it," said Red.

"Just what I need...a mystery in a tower full of ghost Pokémon..." said Naruto.

He really didn't want to go in. He really, really didn't want to go near the place. But his sense of honor refused to let it go.

So he grabbed his golden jewel and put it next to Digit.

"Digit, can you call Obito or Hinata and see if one of them is available?"

"Pory~"

"_Obito here, how did you pull this off Naruto? I was just passing by the house transfer system and you popped up!"_

"I'll tell you later. Quick question, what are your feelings about Ghost Pokémon?"

"_COUNT ME OUT! I can't stand ghosts! Jiraiya used to freak us out when Minato-sensei wasn't available and he gave us a healthy dose of fear for ghosts and ghost Pokémon!"_

"Damn. Is Hinata available?"

"_She just got back from a mission, I'll go ask her,"_ said Obito. He dashed off the screen and ten minutes later Hinata appeared.

"_What's up Naruto-kun?"_

"How do you feel about Ghosts or Ghost Pokémon?"

"_I don't really mind them actually."_

"Good, you free for a bit?" Naruto asked with puppy dog eyes. He really, really didn't want to go with only Red for company.

"_Wait a few hours, I'll head your way,"_ giggled Hinata. She knew Naruto hated ghosts.

* * *

"Hinata-chan!" said Naruto.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. You must be Red," said Hinata.

"Hi! Naruto, who is she?" asked Red.

"Red, meet Hinata-chan, my girlfriend. Hinata, this is Red and Pikachu."

"It's nice to meet you," she said with a slight bow.

"I guess we can't put this off any longer... let's go," said Naruto, trying not to cry. He hated ghosts.

"Naruto-kun, the area is filled with Ghastly and Haunter. I can see at least three Gengar two floors above us, and there's one human with a Charmeleon on the next floor," said Hinata. The fog was so thick that Red didn't notice her Byakugan active.

"Let's head on up then," said Naruto miserably.

"AAGH!" cried Naruto five minutes later.

Hinata giggled. Poor Naruto attracted Pokémon like a magnet. And that Ghastly seemed to sense his unease.

"Wha...That's Blue! But there's something weird about him!" said Red.

"He's under a Hypnosis!" said Naruto. He would recognize those signs anywhere.

"Emil, use Thundershock!" said Hinata.

"Emolga!" said Emil.

"When did you catch that one?" asked Naruto.

"Your Pokémon magnetism seems to linger on people you like."

The electric attack hit Blue square on, but had little effect. It wasn't strong enough.

"My turn. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"CHUUUU!"

"GAH!"

"CHAR!"

"That did the trick. Good job Pikachu!" said Naruto, infinitely more cheerful now. Seeing someone else on the other end of crappy karma always cheered him up.

"Chu!"

"What the heck?!" said Blue.

"Somehow you got put under Hypnosis. The fastest way to break it was a shock to the system," said Naruto.

"That bastard...I'm going to kill him!" snarled Blue.

"Who?" asked Red.

"That man..." growled Blue. They headed up the tower (Naruto and Hinata treated Charmeleon) and finally landed on the top floor.

Naruto and Hinata both face-palmed when they saw what the culprit was wearing.

"It's a ninja throwback. Who the hell is he kidding wearing that?" said Naruto.

"No one wears those tacky clothes...even Gai has better fashion sense, and that's saying something..." said Hinata.

"What's with you two?" asked Red.

"Real shinobi don't wear such cliché clothing, not unless they _want_ to look like lame throwbacks. And those that do are never taken seriously," explained Naruto. Hinata nodded in agreement.

Fishnets were still used, but only because they usually had properties to make them more durable. Wearing what this guy had on practically screamed that you were playing at being a shinobi.

"Arbok, use Poison Sting!"

"Kurama, Flamethrower," said Naruto shaking his head.

"NINE!"

Naruto looked upset as the flamethrower charbroiled the Arbok. He hated killing Pokémon.

The ninja throwback sneered at them before he escaped.

"It's really hard to take guys like that seriously," said Naruto with a shrug.

"That guy is the leader of the Fuchsia City Gym," said Blue with rage.

"You're kidding, right? That throwback is a gym leader?" said Naruto.

* * *

"GAH! NOT AGAIN!" shouted Naruto. Yet another Lick attack... he hated those!

Hinata giggled, and heard something behind them.

"Otome, use Psychic!" said Hinata.

"Kirlia!"

A Misdrevius appeared from behind Naruto. Hinata tossed a Seal ball and caught it.

"What was that?" asked Blue.

"Misdrevius. They feed on fear, and Naruto is just a great target because he really hates ghosts," said Hinata giggling.

"That does it! Time for drastic measures!" said Naruto.

"What drastic measures?" asked Red.

Naruto brandished a flute and began playing Oracion. The fog began to clear as the ghost Pokémon floated around him.

"What is he doing?"

"Getting their attention with music," said Hinata.

"What's that song he's playing?" asked Blue.

"He said it's called Oracion, which means Prayer in the old language. Naruto has a bunch of hobbies, but his most well known ones are music, history and recently making Seal Balls."

"Seal Balls?" said Blue.

"Seal Balls are what we use instead of Pokéballs. They're really hard to come by in our hometown," explained Hinata.

When they exited the tower, Naruto stopped playing.

"I love Pokémon, but I hate it when ghost Pokémon pick on me!" he complained.

Hinata giggled at his expense. She left once the other two boys went on their own way. Poor Naruto and his ghost problem.

Naruto was on his way to the next gym when he found a Pokémon egg. It was in an abandoned nest.

"You poor thing!" said Naruto, picking up the egg. It was bright yellow.

He could tell from the chakra inside it that the Pokémon was still alive. He couldn't find the parents anywhere. There was, however, suspicious blood around it.

"Don't worry little one... I'll protect you from now on," said Naruto.

He put it into his bag.

* * *

"So this is Celadon City. Time to make some cash!" said Naruto grinning evilly.

Celadon was noted to have a rather large Game Corner as well as a Pokémon Mall.

He had Hinata order several hundred Seal Ball covers to make a quick buck. With his rank, they were very cheap to come by, but most Shinobi didn't bother to order them in bulk because they usually just had the ones for their personal team.

Misty's reaction to being able to color-code her Pokéballs had given Naruto a very profitable idea to earn enough cash to by the healing machines.

"Come one, come all! Color-code your Pokéballs with these specialize covers! Guaranteed to stay on in almost any conditions!" said Naruto.

He had his clones henged to look like different people to get attention by pretending to buy covers and applying them onto the Pokéballs.

"How interesting," said a female voice.

She looked really pretty, and was wearing a kimono. She also smelled like plants. Naruto relaxed around her.

"Care for a Pokéball cover? Guaranteed to stay on in most ordinary conditions."

"Do you have any leaf green ones?" she asked.

Naruto pulled out the box with the kanji for green. He then pulled out another which had a specific shade.

"I only have ten of each color," he told her.

"In that case, I would like to buy your leaf green and grass colored ones."

"Grass-type trainer, right?" said Naruto knowingly.

"How did you know?"

"There are two types of people who generally buy out the stock of a particular color. There's people like me, who love a particular color and wish to express themselves, and there are the specialists. Specialists generally stick to one elemental type of Pokémon, and their covers reflect it. Which is why when you picked two specific green covers which had plant names, I can tell you are a grass type trainer. Plus you have the distinct scent of powders which Grass types specialize in," he added as an after thought.

"You're very good. You are correct, I specialize in Grass Pokémon. My name is Erika, what's yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, historian, musician, doctor, trainer," said Naruto with a grin.

"So many occupations. Wait, did you say Doctor?" blinked Erika.

Naruto showed off his breeder's badge, complete with the five markings.

"Level five Pokemon Healer, at your service. Most Nurse Joys barely rank a level three, and the qualifications for doctor are level four or higher. I love Pokémon so much I took up healing on my spare time," said Naruto.

"I think I would have heard of a healer as young as you," said Erika, accepting the covers.

"My village is pretty remote. The one who runs it is a level X healer, and she took me and a few others on as apprentices. I was sent out to get some proper equipment, since we don't have any of the fancy machines like they do around the other areas," said Naruto.

"You mean you learned how to heal Pokémon...without the aid of machines?" she said startled.

"Where I come from, we learn how to heal with our own skills, not a fancy machine. The problem is that it limits the availability of Pokémon to those who work with them. Regular people have real difficulty even having one as a pet," said Naruto.

"So you're trying to earn enough money to send machines home?" said Erika.

"Yeah. If we had those, then everyone would be able to have one, even little kids."

"I like your dedication to your home, Naruto-san," said Erika with a smile.

Naruto grinned, and continued selling the Pokéball covers. He noted that after his talk with Erika, the number of people coming to buy them jumped up quite a bit. The only reason he could think of why was that Erika was a gym leader.

Well, it helped his cause to make Pokémon available to everyone again, so he wasn't complaining.


End file.
